Like Father, Like Son
by Gemmi92
Summary: Robert Fischer has found the only woman he has ever cared about. The death of his father changes a lot of things and he only hopes that their relationship is the one thing which doesn't. Unfortunately, he never predicted what would happen on a ten hour flight to California. Fischer/OC/Eames
1. Chapter 1

"Your father isn't well, Robert," she informed him as he shook his head at her, sitting down on the sofa outside of the room which his father was located in. He had removed his black jacket, dropping it over the arm of the leather sofa as people rushed about him, shouting out numbers and talking about things which were of no importance to Robert at that moment in time.

"I am aware," Robert said back to her, the arrogance in his voice coming through as she bit down on her bottom lip, trying to control her temper with him as he remained looking down into his hands which were holding the iced water he had asked for.

"Why don't you just go in and see him?" she suggested to him and he looked at her, his eyes glaring at hers as he shook his head quickly, unable to go back into the room after what had just happened. He had thrown the photo onto the floor as if it meant nothing. It was as if he didn't even care about him. It hurt Robert. It always had hurt Robert.

"I can't," he whispered back to her and she sighed, her hand tucking her brown hair behind her ears as she did so. "He doesn't care about me, Jenny. He never has."

"I doubt that's true," she promised him, her hand curling around his arm as she moved closer to him and he allowed his head to fall downwards. "He just...he does love you, Robert. He's your father."

"Do you honestly think that means anything?" Robert asked her, his voice low and slightly harsh as he looked at her. He knew that it wasn't her fault. None of it was her fault. "Do you think that he cares about me?"

"He has to," Jenny replied, her voice low and pleading with him as she took hold of his wrist before Peter Browning looked on at the couple. He coughed once, distracting Robert's attention as he shook his head at his godson, telling him that it wasn't looking good. Maurice wasn't going to recover. They all knew that.

"Your father isn't very well, Robert," Peter whispered lowly and Robert knew that he was being summoned to the room where his father was being kept. Jenny squeezed his hands tightly as he placed his water onto the table, kissing him on the cheek hastily as he stood up, straightening his tie out as he followed Maurice into the room and Jenny remained seated, waiting patiently until he came back out again.

...

"I'm supposed to feel something, aren't I?" Fischer checked with Jenny as he sat in the back of his car with her by his side, his hands resting in his lap as he thought about what he had just been through. "He was my father...but...I feel nothing, Jenny. I feel nothing at all."

"I know," Jenny said. She didn't know anything which he was going through. She had never had this type of relationship with her parents. They both loved her unconditionally. And then, she had met Robert. She had met him and seen how he knew nothing about love. He was cold and calculating. At first, she had wondered if he would ever open up to her. Then she had found out. She'd seen why he was how he was when she met Maurice Fischer.

"You don't, Jenny," Robert promised her, taking hold of her hand and kissing the back of it. "I've met your parents. I only wish my own father had been more like them."

"I know you do," she assured him, sliding as close to him as she possibly could and he shook his head again, smiling in disbelief as he did so. "You just need to remember the good times."

"Do you think I had many of them?" he asked, continuing to smirk at her naivety as she bit the inside of her cheek. "My mother died when I was eleven...after that...there was nothing, Jen. There was nothing at all. I hate him for that."

"Don't speak like that, Robert," she begged of him and he shook his head quickly like a petulant child would do and he looked into her brown eyes hastily.

"You met him, Jenny," he said hastily. "You know how he felt. You know he wanted you to sign the prenuptial. He's never cared about anything apart from his money."

"Don't bring the prenuptial into this, Robert," she demanded from him. "He wanted to protect you and make sure your inheritance was kept safe."

"No," Robert defied her. "He thought you were some cheap little accountant who was after me for my money."

"He could have been right," she informed him. "He was looking out for you. I said I would sign the prenuptial. It doesn't mean anything to me."

"It should do," he challenged her. "I don't want you to sign it anyway."

"Well, whatever," Jenny shrugged nonchalantly. "Now isn't the time to discuss it. You've just lost your father."

"Yes...well..." Robert coughed as he looked out of the window and to the sights which passed him by. "I've been thinking about moving now that my father is gone."

"Oh?" Jenny wondered. That was the problem with Robert. He was also so secretive with Jenny. He kept his emotions so guarded that she didn't think he knew how to feel sometimes. She cared deeply for him, craving intimacy, but, he didn't. He liked to keep his distance.

"Back to America," he whispered to her. "There is nothing here for me except bad memories."

"Are you sure?" Jenny whispered. "You've only just lost your father. You can't be making brash decisions."

"I'm not," he denied again, his stubborn streak showing through as he did so. Jenny sighed again, taking her time to listen to him as he rubbed his chin with his hand. "I've thought long and hard about this, Jenny."

"You fly out to California in a few days, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Think about it whilst you're gone," she appealed to him. "It's a big thing, Robert."

"It isn't really," he shrugged off. "I don't need to worry about the money. I can manage the move."

"And where do I fit in all of your plans?" Jenny enquired from him and he looked down at her as if the answer was dead simple and staring her in the face.

"You'll be coming with me," he stated.

"Will I?" she wondered aloud and he nodded at her. "Didn't you even think to ask me how I felt about this?"

"I...I..." Robert trailed off, shaking his head as he did so. He didn't think to ask her. He assumed she would just come with him. Jenny rolled her eyes, pulling away from him as she did so and the car drew to a halt outside of her apartment building. She looked at him for a moment and shook her head sadly.

"I'm sorry for what happened to your father, Robert," she promised and he remained silent, watching and listening with intent. "But...there are sometimes when you are so selfish and controlling that I don't know what to think about you."

"Don't say that," Robert demanded from her, his voice slightly pleading as he said it. "I'm nothing like him."

"Perhaps not in some qualities," Jenny agreed. "But you're both certainly stubborn."

He listened to her words over and over again as the car drove off from her apartment and he shook his head, realising that he didn't want to be like him. He didn't want to be anything like his father. But, maybe, there were some things which he couldn't change.


	2. Chapter 2

Jenny took a deep breath as she moved up the steps of her apartment block, passing the litter which sat on them as she finally reached the second floor and dipped her hand into her bag, pulling her keys out and unlocking the door to apartment 20A. As soon as she was in, she threw the keys onto the small table which sat by the doorway and she ran her hand down her long, curly black hair, moving into the living room and finding out her small bottle of vodka from underneath the coffee table.

Why did she have to fall for a man like Robert Fischer? She loved him deeply. She cared for him immensely, but, he was too frustrating for her to deal with sometimes. The money he had made him arrogant and stubborn. But, there were sometimes when he showed a softer side, a rarity, she had to admit. But, she knew he was insecure. His father had made him insecure. She'd tried to show him that he didn't need to be his father. He could be anyone who he wanted to be. He had the brains to do it. He just lacked ambition.

Jenny walked over into her kitchen, pulling out a tall glass and filling it with a bit of vodka, downing the liquid in a matter of seconds before wishing she hadn't as the burning sensation filled her throat. She shouldn't have left Robert. She should have stayed with him and made sure that he was okay. He had just lost his father, for heaven's sake! She knew that they weren't close, but, she knew that he needed someone to be with him during his loss.

Before she could pick up the phone, she heard the ringing of the doorbell and she shook her head. She had a feeling that it would be Jeremy from work. She had been slacking recently, handing off clients to other customers as Maurice Fischer worsened and Robert needed her to be with him.

She drained some more of the vodka, holding it in her hands as she moved to the door and opened it, her eyes widening as she did so.

"It's five o'clock in the afternoon," his calm and collected voice informed her as he looked at the glass which she was holding. "Please tell me that you're not drinking vodka and that is just water?"

"It's water," she lied to him and he arched a brow in her direction, unable to believe that she was telling him the truth.

"If it is water then you should be able to drink it all without a problem," he informed her and she remained silent, pressing it to her lips as she looked at the remainder in her glass and sipped on it, unable to handle it as it moved down her throat and his lips quirked up slightly as she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, you win," she informed him and he chuckled once, rubbing the back of his neck as she held the door open for him to move into her small apartment. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to swallow my pride," he declared and Jenny rolled her eyes, walking back into the kitchen and he followed her, his hands in his pockets as he did so. "In the car...I didn't think..."

"I know," she agreed with him, opening her fridge and pulling out the pitcher of orange which she had. Robert always drank orange when he came to her apartment. He'd first asked her if she had any earl grey tea. She had blinked profusely, informing him that she had tea bags. He'd smirked and said orange was just fine.

"I just don't think I can stay in Australia," he replied to her, shrugging his shoulders as he did so. "My godfather thinks the move would be good for me, too."

"I understand how you feel, Robert. You're confused and upset and want to get out," she informed him and he didn't argue with her. He remained silent, shrugging out of his jacket as he draped it onto the counter and adjusted the tie, his suspenders holding his trousers up as Jenny looked at him, realising he was the only man who she knew that could get away with suspenders. "I just think that you should consult me about things first. We're supposed to be getting married."

"Supposed to be?" Robert asked her, loosening the purple tie she had bought him for his birthday as he did so. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I think we need some time...Robert...things haven't been great between us..." she informed him and she could have sworn she saw fear rise into his blue eyes and she winced, unable to look at him for a second as she did so.

"Don't you love me?" he asked her and she rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her body.

"You know that I do," she replied. "I...I don't know if I can go to America with you...my family are here, Robert...and then you said that I'd come with you...controlling me..."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I never meant to do that to you."

"That's the thing," Jenny said back to him. "You do it and you don't notice. It drives me mad."

"Jenny," Robert sighed her name, walking towards her and allowing himself to wrap his arms around her waist, drawing her closer to him as he did so. She rested her hands onto his shoulders, feeling the crispness of the white shirt which he wore as she took in his perfectly coiffed hair. It looked better than hers ever did. "I'm sorry. Just don't tell me that we need a break, okay? I don't want a break. I don't want to be apart from you."

"I know," she murmured, stroking his shoulders as he shook his head at her.

"Come with me to California?" he asked her. "We can sort things out there. Time apart would only make us drift and I don't want that."

"I can't just up and leave, Robert," she groaned. "I work in a business. I work in a business which deals with your accounts, to be precise." She reminded him.

"I am aware," Robert nodded. "That's how we met, remember?"

"I can hardly forget," she said and he smirked down to her, catching a glimpse of the smile which he loved on her features. "That's the thing...Robert...you're so wealthy and I'm not...you think that I can just up and go whenever I want to because you do...I can't...and the presumption that I can winds me up."

"You know that I have the money to look after you, Jen," Robert mumbled.

"I also know that I didn't put myself through years of training to have to give up my job," she replied.

"Please," Robert managed to spit that word out. "Come to California with me. I have the jet ready and waiting. I just don't want space at the moment."

"Robert," she complained as he bent down to her height and looked at her.

"Please," he said again and Jenny knew he was desperate. Robert Fischer never said please twice unless he really meant what he was saying. She nodded in agreement as he kissed her forehead and she sighed.

"Thank you," he said gratefully to her. "Do you want to stay here tonight or come back to mine?" he wondered and Jenny moved from his hold, taking her glass and filling it with water as Robert sipped on his orange juice.

"If I'm going with you to California then I need to pack," she informed him and he chuckled at her. He never needed to pack. He supposed it was the perk of having an apartment over there.

"I suppose you do," he responded.

"You can stay for a while if you want to," Jenny assured him and he arched a brow at her. "I mean...I don't have any food in the cupboards because I haven't had time to shop...but there's takeout that I can order..."

"As long as it isn't that nasty Chinese food which you ordered last time," Robert drawled, holding his glass in his hands as she glared at him.

"Hey!" she snapped. "That was good food!"

"It was horrible," he replied. "I'll choose the food and you start to pack."

"How long will we be gone for?"

"A few days," Robert said, pulling his phone from his pocket and playing on it as Jenny nodded once. "Not too long."

"Fine," she agreed. "And don't order any Thai food!"

"Why not?" Robert asked as she stood in the doorway and looked over to him.

"Because it is far too expensive for me to pay for."

Robert rolled his eyes, pulling his wallet out and opening it, checking the wad of cash in there as Jenny resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She bit down on her tongue as Robert allowed himself a rare smile.

"I'll pay," he spoke, moving to the doorway where she stood. "What type of gentleman doesn't pay for dinner?"

"I've met a few," Jenny mumbled and Robert tucked his finger under her chin, lifting her face up to look at him as he did so.

"You don't need to meet anymore," he assured her before kissing her deeply.

...

A/N: So, LindyLoveLoki sort of persuaded me with their review to actually give a Robert story a go. I have no idea how it will turn out so review so far are greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

"You can't just up and leave whenever you feel like it," Jenny held the phone from her ear as she folded her clothes up and placed them into a bag, knowing that Jeremy was right to be annoyed and curt with her. She was annoyed with herself that she had agreed to go with Robert. She should have held her ground and told him that she couldn't. But, she knew that Maurice Fischer was being flown back to LA...well...his body was, anyway. "You do know that the boss doesn't care if you're engaged to Robert Fischer, don't you?"

"I know," Jen agreed with him, sighing as she did so and she stood up straight, sandwiching the phone between her ear and shoulder as she moved to her other set of drawers and searched for pyjamas. "I also know that Robert needs me at the moment."

"He needs you at every moment. Do you have any idea how much work I have from your clients?" Jeremy snapped and Jenny bit down on her tongue, forcing herself not to snap back. Snapping back never got anyone any favours done. "I'm at the office until six at night and hardly sleeping. I can't handle it. If you don't get back to work and buck your ideas up then you're going to be fired."

"I'll talk to the boss later," she assured her work colleague. "I'll even pay for them to hire a temp whilst I'm gone if I have to. I can't lose my job."

"Well, you had better do something," Jeremy sighed. "Otherwise you're going to be in deep crap."

"I know," Jenny agreed. "Look, I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

"He'd better be worth this," Jeremy hissed and Jenny smirked lightly.

"I'd like to hope so," she admitted to him before the line went dead.

Jenny rubbed her hand along her temple, the signs of a headache forming there as she did so and she shook her shoulders, trying to loosen the muscles as she zipped her case up and felt hands move onto her shoulders, his chest pushed against her back as she relaxed against him, her head resting on his chest as she did so.

"You're too tense," he whispered to her. "You're worse than me."

"I didn't think that was possible," she joked back with him and he chuckled, his hands digging into her shoulders as she sighed once and turned back to face him. "What time do we leave tomorrow?"

"First thing in the morning," he replied, dropping his hands onto her waist and holding her tight to him. "Why do you ask?"

"I need to phone my parents," she replied. "They don't appreciate phone calls early in the morning."

"You'd best phone them now. Dinner is on the way."

...

"And how is Fischer's relationship with his father?"

"Weak. It seems that he does everything in his power to please the man, but, it is never enough," Eames spoke out, looking around the room as he rocked back and forth and his chair, the notebook in his hand as Cobb sighed loudly, pushing his blonde hair behind his ears as he did so. "He's dying anyway. There is no doubt about it that by the end of the night he will be gone. Fischer is being pushed in every direction. The business is staying afloat, but, it is Peter Browning who is basically in charge. He also happens to be Fischer's godfather."

"And that's all you know?" Arthur wondered, his voice curt and full of boredom as Eames raised a brow in his direction, daring him to say some more on the matter as he shrugged once and leant back in his seat.

"He has a fiancée, too," he spoke, peering down into his book. "She was there when I was observing him. Jennifer Reynolds. She's an accountant and I think Fischer fell out with his father over her."

"Why would you think that?" Cobb enquired.

"The phrase 'pre-nuptial' and 'your father's wishes' were tossed around a lot," he clarified and Cobb nodded once. "He's the heir to multibillion-dollar oil company and is about to take control of it. He refuses to make her sign a pre-nuptial even though she is agreeing to it."

"So...what we plant into this man's head will need to be a positive emotion. Maybe she could play a part?" Arthur suggested and Eames allowed himself a large smug grin.

"Your contribution is – as ever – welcome, Arthur," he spoke up. "Just not necessary."

Arthur glared at him for a moment and he shook his head in disagreement.

"I think we need an emotional basis," Eames declared. "He needs to have a positive feeling about breaking up his father's empire."

...

Robert knew that Jenny didn't do mornings. He also knew that she didn't fly well. He had slept roughly, tossing and turning and thinking about the fact that he had to fly his father's body back to LA from Sydney. He also thought about the fact that he may not return back to Australia. Of course, he knew that he needed to discuss it with Jenny, but, he had his mind made up. He was never indecisive.

"Jen," he nudged her in the morning when he had showered and dressed. She remained asleep, muttering under her breath as Robert smirked gently and pushed her hair behind her ear. "You need to get up. The plane is scheduled to leave in another two hours."

"Fine," she mumbled, pushing herself from the bed and out of it. Robert smiled gently as she trudged through her bedroom and changed into her smart grey dress, the skirt of it clinging to her legs as he noted a small piece of tissue clinging to her leg.

"You have tissue on your leg," he informed her and she nodded.

"I know."

"Why?"

"It isn't just men who can cut themselves by shaving." She reminded him and he shook his head in disbelief as she dabbed at it and moaned under her breath. Robert picked her bag up, flinging it over his shoulder as he moved down the hallway with her in tow. She was checking her bag, doing what her mother had ordered and making sure that she had her passport and some money. She never needed money when she was with Robert. But, she liked to carry some on her just in case.

Robert held his phone to his ear for the majority of the ride, sorting business out as she looked out the window, staring at the world passing her by until they reached the plane. Robert's door was opened as he remained texting on his phone, his other hand holding itself out to Jenny who took hold of it, wrapping her fingers into his as she looked at the large private plane.

"Mr Fischer," the pilot spoke and Robert looked up from his phone, the bored expression held on his face as he did so. "There seems to be a technical difficulty with your plane."

"Excuse me?" Robert replied as the pilot took a deep breath.

"It won't fly, sir," he spoke. "It isn't safe to take off. We've arrange for yourself and Miss Reynolds to have seats on the Boeing 747. First class, of course."

"And my father?" he whispered and the pilot gulped but nodded.

"On the same flight, sir."

...

"I can't believe that," Robert complained as he looked around the airport first class longue, his head shaking back and forth as he did so. Jenny rolled her eyes, watching the plane hurtle up and down the runway as Robert remained annoyed. "Why does there have to be a technical fault today?"

"I don't think they planned the fault to annoy you, Robert," Jenny informed him. "I mean...I've never flown first class before."

"Really?" he checked and she nodded.

"Economy all the way," she said, a small smile on her face as their flight was called. Robert took hold of her hand as she looked down at both of the tickets she had as they moved out to the large plane, not knowing what the flight had in store for them.


	4. Chapter 4

Cobb froze as soon as he saw Fischer and his fiancée in the first class waiting lounge. He looked across to Saito who was silent. He simply arched a brow at Cobb, wondering what his problem was as he shook his head quickly, moving closer to Saito and glaring at him through narrowed eyes.

"What is she doing here?" he hissed and Saito looked across to where Fischer sat, his legs crossed and his phone in his hands as the young woman remained by his side, leant forward with her hands clasped together as the billionaire heir ignored her for business. "We didn't plan for her to be here."

"She wasn't scheduled to be on the flight," Saito defended himself. "It must have been a last minute arrangement."

"What do we do now?" Cobb snapped at him and the man rolled his eyes gently. "She can't come into the dream world with us, can she?"

"She may be useful," Saito informed Cobb who arched a brow, wondering how she could be useful to them. They had it all thoroughly planned. They didn't need her there to ruin everything. The meticulous plan needed to remain. It didn't need to be ruined by his fiancée.

"How will she be useful?" Cobb snapped at him. "We have this all planned without her."

"Saito could be right," Arthur's voice suddenly joined in with the conversation and the two men turned to look at him as Ariadne stood by his side, her arm entwined with his as they kept up their pretence and Cobb looked at his partner. "I researched Fischer. If we need to crack him then we could use her to do so. She's the only woman he has dated. She must be special to him."

"She isn't the one whose mind we're going into," Cobb complained. "We could just knock her out for the ten hours. She would wake up when we do and then we'd be safe."

"And if she wakes up before us?" Arthur arched a brow. "This could work, Dom. She'd be by his side the entire time and I don't see her causing us a problem. We could crack him quicker."

"I don't like it," Dom replied and Arthur shrugged.

"It's your choice," he promised him. "We're not the ones who need to get home so badly."

Dom remained pensive for a moment, thinking through the plan as he did so before he shook his head. There was no way she was going into the dream world with them.

"I'll think of a way to drug her to sleep." He informed them as Arthur shook his head and Ariadne looked at the pair of them.

"You only bought enough to drug Fischer, didn't you?" she checked with the point man who nodded in agreement, handing the small powdery substance over to Dom who remained frustrated again.

"Half the dose," Arthur demanded him. "It will knock them out quickly but they won't be asleep for long."

"And what happens when she wakes up?" Dom snapped.

"We take her into the dream with us," Arthur replied. "There is no other choice."

...

"Stop biting down on your lip," Robert demanded that from Jenny as he stood in the queue. They were waiting for the plane doors to be opened so that they could board the large Boeing 747. Jenny straightened out the grey dress against her figure, pushing her brown hair behind her shoulders as Robert dropped his phone into the pocket of his jacket suit, his hand curling tightly around his case as he did so. He took hold of Jenny's free hand as she looked up to him and he managed a small smile down to her.

"Everything will be fine," he simply promised her. "Flying in first class is much better than Economy."

"It isn't just the location of where I'm sat which bothers me," she informed Robert. "I don't like flying."

"It's safe," he assured her as they began to move down the queue and he remained holding onto her hand as she dug around in her bag with her free one, looking for their boarding passes which she had dumped in there. She pulled them out and Robert let go of her, taking hold of it as he showed it to the stewardess and Jenny did the same. Robert was stood near the doorway, an agitated look on his face as the man in front of him blocked the small aisle.

"Do you mind?" Robert asked him, his voice sharp and curt as Jenny noted that her seat was next to the man in the middle of the aisle. She knew first class was luxurious. She had just hoped that she would have been sat near Robert.

She looked at the overhead compartment which 'the blocking aisle man' was still at before he began to close it.

"Excuse me," Jenny spoke up and he looked back at her, his brow raised as he allowed the compartment to open wide again and she smiled gratefully, stowing her bag up there. "Thanks."

"No worries," he said, taking his seat and looking out onto the runway as Jenny caught Robert's eye again and he smiled gently at her before taking his seat and she did the same, wanting nothing more than to be able to sit a little closer to him. He went back to playing on his phone as she laced her fingers together and began drumming them on her lap, trying to occupy her mind whilst the man across the aisle looked back to her, his grey eyes looking into hers as he smirked gently.

"Nervous?" he wondered from her, noting her pale face and her distracted look.

"A bit," she admitted to him and he smirked once.

"There's nothing to worry about. Trust me, I've been on a lot of flights and worrying achieves nothing, darling."

"I don't fly that often," she defended herself. "I've never flown first class either," she blurted out, not sure why she was telling him that as he smirked once, sitting back and adjusting his tie and she noted Robert speaking with the man behind him.

"I take it you'd prefer to be sat nearer your fiancé?" he checked, noting her staring at Robert and she looked back to him, shrugging gently as she did so.

"It'd be nice. How do you know that he's my fiancé?" she wondered and he chuckled, motioning to the large diamond ring which sat on her left hand as he did so.

"He's Robert Fischer," he stated. It wasn't even a question. Robert was so well known that everyone knew who he was. It worried Jenny slightly. The constant lookout for paparazzi and foes wasn't something she had been prepared to accept when she initially agreed to marry Robert. But, the man outweighed the disadvantages that went with him. "Everyone knows the news of his engagement. It really isn't a secret."

"No," Jenny mumbled. "I suppose it isn't."

She felt the plane jolt forward suddenly and she gripped onto either side of the arm of the chair, breathing deeply as the man smirked once again. The waitress asked if he wanted a drink and so he ordered himself a brandy and then said that Jenny would have one too.

"I shouldn't," she informed him but he shook his head, holding his hand up to silence her protests.

"It will help with the nerves," he promised her and she looked across the way to where Robert was sipping on his water. He looked over to her, nodding once as the man behind him turned to look at her also before diverting his attention back to Robert.

"Here," Eames spoke, handing the glass to Jenny who took it with both hands. She took a sip of it, quickly draining it much to Eames' surprise as he raised a brow and rubbed his chin. She was quite the drinker then.

As the plane moved down the runway she remained silent, her eyes shut as she did so and she was grateful when the plane reached the air. Robert stood up, removing his jacket and revealing his purple tie and suspenders against his white shirt as he walked over to where she sat, crouching down and taking her hand into his.

"How are you feeling?" he enquired and she looked at him sceptically before he chuckled gently and yawned to himself. "Silly question?"

"Possibly," she replied with a small smile as Robert yawned again and shook his head, looking back at Jenny who had raised a brow.

"Tired?" she asked him and he nodded.

"I don't know why," he admitted to her. "I know that I didn't sleep well...but...I'm not that tired."

"Are you okay?" she wondered, seeing his eyes widen and then narrow as he tried to stand up. Jenny quickly jumped from her seat, instantly allowing her hands to wrap around his arms as he looked at her, his eyes moving frantically from one side to the other before he became a dead weight. "Robert...Robert...what's wrong...?" she worried, struggling to keep his body in her arms as a flurry of activity started around the cabin and Jenny felt him being lifted from her arms as her head began to spin.

"What's happening?" she worried, seeing her fiancé being deposited into the chair which he had vacated as she clasped a hand to her head, trying to move forwards to get to Robert as she stumbled.

"Easy now, darling," the man's voice spoke in her ear as his arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her held upright. "You're going to be fine. No need to worry," Eames assured her as she weakly tried to get from his hold and over to Robert.

"Who are you?" she slurred her words as his hold lapsed on her and she gripped onto the empty chair by the side of her as he gently moved her to sit down onto it.

"It doesn't matter," he assured her. "It's all just a dream."

...

A/N: So, not many Fischer/OC stories out there when I had a look. I'm going to continue with this one next week when I come back from Italy so if you are reading this then please do review!


	5. Chapter 5

"No...Daniel...I've told you before," Jenny said, her voice slightly exasperated as she held her phone to her ear and looked around the large open office area. Her intern was sat before her, his hand on the mouse of the computer as he looked at the screen, trying to do his job but failing miserably. Jenny wasn't normally snappy with interns. She normally prided herself on being the only one in the company who could handle having them around. She took a deep breath and shook her head as she managed to speak to a client on the phone whilst sorting Daniel out.

"Sorry, Miss Reynolds," Daniel mumbled as Jenny stood up, moving around the office and snapping down the phone until she saw the elevator door fling open and she abruptly hung up on a client when she saw him stood there, his hair slightly damp from the rain outside as his briefcase hung by his side.

"What are you doing here?" Jenny asked as he moved over to her, his hand dropping to her hip before he pecked her on the lips. She looked around, seeing everyone staring as Robert checked his watch.

"We have a dinner date, remember?" he whispered. "Well...we're supposed to discuss business."

"Supposed to?" she questioned his choice of words and he managed a sincere smile for her.

"I thought we could talk about other things," he informed her. "Like our engagement party."

"Okay," Jennifer agreed with him, pushing her hair behind her ear as she walked to her desk and grabbed her coat, placing it onto her shoulders before grabbing hold of Robert's open hand and entwining her fingers into his.

"The rains worse than before," Robert complained as he stepped out onto the street, his phone pressed to his ear as he spoke down the phone and continued to hold Jennifer's hand, juggling his briefcase as she placed her free hand on the top of her head, looking for a taxi in the pouring rain.

"Robert!" she shrieked loudly, the rain splashing down her face as a cab drove past them and she failed to hail it. He looked at her, smirking once and then hanging up and dropping his phone into his pocket as he moved forward and successfully hailed a cab.

"Show off," Jenny complained and he opened the door, his hand resting on her back as she slid into the back seat, leaning forward and allowing her hair to drip onto her lap. She shook slightly as Robert slid in beside her and gave the name of the restaurant to the driver. Before it had a chance to drive off, the door was pulled open and a broad man slid in next to Jenny whose eyes went wide. Robert leant in front of her and looked at him.

"It's taken," Robert said harshly as the man shook his hair and droplets moved through the back of the cab.

"Oh, is it?" he mumbled. "Perhaps we can share?"

"Perhaps not," Robert replied.

"It doesn't matter," Jennifer added on as the man smirked at her and she felt his thigh rest against hers as she shuffled closer to Robert. "Can we get out? We'll get another cab."

"Are you not listening to her? Do you know who we are?" Robert snapped, tired with the driver still driving as the passenger beside him turned around, his gun in his hand as he pointed it through the gap.

"Jesus Christ!" Jennifer cried out as Robert looked at the man next to them who was smirking. He'd been set up. Of course he had been. He sighed, seeming unfazed by everything as he moved his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled his wallet out, throwing it at the man in the back with them.

"There's money in there and the wallet is worth a lot more," he complained, settling back in his seat whilst Jenny wondered how he could be so calm. Robert noted her shake next to him before he wrapped his arm around her waist and placed his lips next to her ear.

"Just drop your bag onto the floor," he insisted and she did as he had instructed her to, dropping the purse onto the floor. He pressed his lips against her temple and held her tight to his side.

"Why are you so calm?" Jenny enquired; her voice harsh as she did so.

"These people will do what they want," Robert whispered back to her. "Us being scared will have nothing to do with that."

"But, we do appreciate it," the man next to Jenny assured her and she glared over to him before the noise of gunshots was heard. At first she worried that it was her who had been shot. She began to scream loudly, allowing Robert to rest his body on top of hers and push her downwards. She didn't know what was happening as she felt his weight slowly become heavier and she feared the worst. The noise of gunshots slowly subdued and she dared to move, looking at Robert as she pushed him from her.

"He's passed out," the man next to Jennifer said and he seemed just as annoyed and angry as she was. She looked down to Robert, slowly cradling his body to hers and making sure his pulse was okay and that he wasn't bleeding. She didn't want to take tall kidnapper man's word as law. "It would have been the hit on his head he had."

"What the hell is going on?" Jennifer demanded to know from him, looking around at the two men in the front who were silent as they continued to drive on. "What kind of robbery is this?"

"It's not," the man grumbled as the cab drew to a halt.

"Saito's been shot," one in the leather jacket informed the man in the suit and Jennifer smelt the blood as soon as she wrinkled her nose.

"I want to know what the hell is happening!" Jennifer yelled as the man in the suit jumped out of the car and ran over to a large warehouse, pushing the door open and allowing the cars to drive in. It only took one minute for Robert to be pulled from the car by leather jacket man and Jennifer felt her arm being pulled on.

"Get off!" she snapped at the man in the suit as he led her through the concrete building and she struggled against him.

"It would be a lot easier if you were to stop struggling, Miss Reynolds," he assured her, his British accent coming through thick and fast as she shook her head.

"How can I do that when you kidnap me and my fiancé?" she demanded from him and he chuckled once down to her and she recognised the sound, her eyes widening as the thought back to what had just happened. Where had she just been? She'd been at work with Daniel...arguing...and then Robert had come to her. But, before then she didn't remember. She remembered his laugh and the sound of his voice though.

"What's happening?" she asked again, this time her voice timid as she stood still and Eames looked down to her, his brow arched in wonder as she looked around the building. He noted the change in her behaviour and began to panic. She couldn't know. There was no way she could know that she was dreaming. "This isn't real."

"I'm afraid to say that it is," he assured her and she snatched her arm from his grasp. She'd heard about stories like this. Her sister had claimed to have done it...but...no one believed her except Jennifer. Her stories were too imaginative and they made sense. She'd experienced it too. But, she was six. She didn't remember it that well.

"It isn't," Jennifer snapped at him, shaking her head. "You're in my dream."


	6. Chapter 6

Eames remained silent, letting his grip on Jennifer go as she snatched his arm from his cold fingers. He dropped his hand to his side, his eyes still looking at her with interest as she looked around, wondering truly what was happening as she did so.

"What do you know?" Eames wondered, hearing his name being yelled by Arthur as he remained stood opposite Jennifer. She closed her eyes, her head bowed as she did so and Eames turned around as Arthur appeared from around the corner and he pointed at Jennifer.

"She's supposed to be tied up!" he snapped and Eames rolled his eyes, taking a hold of her arm again before dragging her past Arthur. But, this time she didn't resist. "What are you doing?"

"You should do your research better," Eames simply hissed at Arthur, his finger pointing at him as he did so and Jennifer remained silent, wondering where they had taken Robert as she strained her neck to look around the cold, abandoned warehouse. "She's not as dense as she seems."

"Hey!" Jennifer snapped at him.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur asked, his face scrunching up in concentration as he did so and he looked between the pair of them. "She's just his fiancée."

"Who knows about what we do," Eames replied and Arthur shook his head. It wasn't possible. She couldn't know about Inception. He'd done his background research on her. But, he had been wrong about Fischer. That man knew about extraction. His projections certainly knew.

"I am here," Jennifer reminded them as Eames shook his head.

"I'm going to have a word with her," he simply informed Arthur.

"Fischer has been shouting for her," Arthur said as Eames dragged Jennifer past the tall man and into the room which he was using as his dressing room for when he perfected the image of Fischer's godfather. Eames released Jennifer, motioning to the dressing table seat as he pulled out a wooden chair from the desk next to the window. She took a seat as he did so and she remained looking at him.

"Where is Robert?" she demanded from him and he shook his head, his hands running through his hair as he did so.

"He's fine," he promised her. "We don't intend to kill him."

"Oh, what a relief," she snapped sarcastically. "Do you honestly think that I believe you?"

"You should," he replied. "What do you know about what we are doing?"

"I know about being in a dream," she informed him. "I know that I can't remember how I ended up here and so I know this is a dream."

"And what does your fiancé know?" he asked from her and she looked away from his intrusive stare for a moment, her eyes fixing on the mirror on the dressing table to the side of her as she did so.

"He doesn't know anything," Jennifer replied. "I didn't know anything until I fought long and hard about it. Until I wondered how I had gotten into this mess when I woke up this morning. And then I remembered that I hadn't even woken up this morning."

"He seems to know something," Eames said, itching the stubble on his chin as he did so and Jennifer shrugged once. "His projections were pretty violent out there."

"What?" Jennifer wondered and Eames sighed gently. She didn't know much; that was obvious. She knew small bits about what was happening. "Projections?"

"The ones who were shooting us in the cab were his projections. It was his subconscious fighting against us." He spoke. "It was completely different to what we had believed."

"Tell me what is happening," Jennifer sighed, her hand running through her hair as she did so. "I don't understand."

"I think you know more than what you're letting on," Eames deduced, his hands clasped together in front of him as he eyed her with suspicion. "You need to tell me what you know."

"Nothing," she shook her head, trying not to cry as she thought about what had happened when she was six. She thought about how she lost her own sister to her dreams. She didn't know what to think. "I don't know anything."

"Why do you think this is a dream then?" Eames wondered, seeing her trying to hold back the tears in her eyes as she did so.

"I don't know," she said, her mind running through all the possibilities of what could be happening. Maybe this was real. Maybe she was being silly. "It is though...isn't it?"

"Yes," Eames admitted to her. "This is a dream."

"Not again," Jennifer complained, her hair being pulled at as she stood up, pacing up and down the room as she did so.

"When did this last happen to you?" Eames wondered and she shook her head, her hands resting on her hips.

"I was six," she declared. "I can barely remember it...all I know...my sister was in a dream...she showed me and...that's it."

"I don't believe you," Eames informed her and she gritted her teeth tightly together. She wasn't going to tell him everything. She couldn't tell him everything. It wasn't his business. "Your sister took you into a dream and then what?"

"Nothing," Jennifer lied to him. "I woke up. I never did it again."

"There is something more," Eames declared and Jennifer shook her head at him.

"No," she snapped. "What is going on? Why are we down here?"

"I'm afraid that I can't tell you that," Eames informed her, sitting back in his chair and crossing his legs as he did so. "What with you being Fischer's fiancée."

"And as his fiancée I intend to tell him everything that you're doing," she warned Eames who couldn't help but chuckle, the sound echoing through the room and through Jennifer's body as she did so. There was something about him which unnerved her.

"You can't do that," he said deeply to her. "You would ruin the entire plot."

"Which is?"

"As I said," Eames drawled. "We can't tell you."

"And what happens if I convince him that he is dreaming?" Jennifer wondered and Eames snorted loudly, rolling his eyes as he did so and he looked back to her as she stood before him and he moved to his feet.

"Do you honestly think that he will believe that?" he replied.

"It is worth a shot instead of lying to him," Jennifer replied. "I want to see him."

Eames took a deep breath of annoyance as he thought about what she had just demanded. There was no way that Fischer was going to believe that he was dreaming unless she asked him to think about how he ended up where he was. She could ruin it all for them.

"Stay in here for a moment," he demanded and slammed the door shut, shouting for Cobb as he did so. The conversation with him was as tense as he had previously believed, Cobb spouting how he knew that it wasn't a good idea for her to have gone down with them. Eames had bit down on his tongue, seeing Saito in pain and wondering how they were going to get themselves out of the mess which they had created.

"She doesn't know about Inception?" Cobb checked with Eames as they heard Jennifer shout out from the room she had been locked in.

"No," Eames spoke. "She knows about being able to dream but that is all. She's not an expert by any means."

"If she convinces Fischer that he's dreaming then that's it," Cobb decided. "If he tries to think about how he ended up here then he will believe her. We need to get down to the next level as soon as possible."

"And will she still know?" Arthur spoke up, his arms folded as he did so. He ignored the glare coming from Cobb and remained focused on getting an answer to his question.

"She will know," he agreed. "But, by then we will have deployed Mr Charles and Fischer will know that he is dreaming."

"And what do we do until then?" Eames shrugged his shoulders.

"We keep her away from Fischer."

...

"Do you intend to tell me what is going on?" Jennifer enquired from Eames as he slammed the door shut to the room and shook his head.

"No can do, sweetheart," he drawled. "You're going to have to sit tight for a while, I'm afraid."

"This has something to do with Robert," she declared. "You wouldn't target me...I'm an accountant...for goodness sakes..."

"As you are, darling," Eames agreed as he moved over to her and she looked at him with wonder. He drew out his gun and she held her hands up, palms outwards as he did so. He smirked gently to her.

"I'm not going to kill you. I just need you to be compliant," he informed her as she began to question what he was doing as he wrapped a white gag around her mouth, allowing it to move into her teeth as he tied it securely and she tried to yell out loud.

...

"I don't know the code to any safe," Robert snapped as he looked at the two masked men in front of him and he remained seated on the floor, his eyes darting around as he did so. "Where's Jennifer?"

"She's safe," the one in leather said.

"For now," the other one added on and Robert balled his hands up into fists, inhaling sharply as he wondered where his fiancée had wound up to.

"I swear that if you touch a single hair on her body then I will make you all pay," he informed them as they snorted loudly, exchanging knowing glances to each other as they did so.

"If you give us the code then we'll make sure she's safe," one promised him and he jutted his chin out like a petulant child, unable to do anything other than that.

"I don't know the code." He snapped again.

"Maybe this will make you remember," a new voice said and they joined in with the conversation. Robert turned his eyes upwards, seeing where it had came from as his fiancée was pushed into the room, her arm held behind her back as she struggled to yell through the gag covering her mouth. Her grey dress had some dirt covered on it and her hair was all over the place, messing up her appearance as Robert feared the worst.

"What have you done to her?" he snapped, standing up and moving forward quickly, only to be pushed back by the one in leather.

"I've done nothing," the one holding her said, his English accent shining into the room. "Miss Reynolds makes quite the good little hostage."

Robert managed to hear the swear word escape her lips as he ran his hands over his cheeks and turned around, frantically searching for the code which he had to know as he did so.

"I don't know it!" he suddenly yelled out. "Let her go...just...give her to me..."

"No can do."

"Please," Robert tried again, "don't hurt her."

Robert looked onto her tear stained face as she tried to speak to him but he shook his head at her, his own face showing the sign of stress and worry as he did so.

"You have one hour," the leather one decided as Eames turned on his heel, pushing Jenny from the room whilst Robert frantically searched through the contents of his mind.


	7. Chapter 7

"You should maybe talk to her," Arthur suggested as he removed his mask and looked at Ariadne as she stood to the sidelines, observing everything which was going on as Cobb spoke to Saito, telling him to hold on and be strong. She'd heard the screams coming from Eames as he impersonated Peter Browning and they tried to crack Fischer into giving them the code. But, Ariadne had been looking to the small windowsill in the disused factory where his fiancée sat, her nails taking a good chewing to as she constantly pushed her brown hair behind her ear and allowed panic to move into her body.

"Me?" Ariadne checked with him and he nodded in agreement with her. "Why do you think I should talk to her?"

"You're a woman and she's a woman. She might open up to you and tell you what she knows," Arthur reasoned and Ariadne shook her head. She didn't think that was wise. If anything, she would be the one in danger of saying too much to the elder woman. However, she didn't seem that much older than her.

"I don't think a heart to heart with her is necessary," she assured Arthur. "She looks content just sat with her own thoughts."

"That's the worst thing," he replied. "Leaving her to think gives her time to develop her own ways of finding out what we're doing."

"Looks like we don't need to bother," Ariadne spoke, her chin jutting out in her direction as they saw Cobb make his own way over to her, his arms folded and his face stern as he did so. The pair of them turned away as soon as he sat down on the window ledge and glanced in their direction, a stiff nod escaping his neck and head as he did so.

"Miss Reynolds, isn't it?" Cobb checked with her and Jennifer snapped her attention back from the pouring rain and onto the man before her as he laced his fingers together and folded one leg under the other, leaning against the small brick alcove as she nodded at him.

"And you would be...?" she trailed off.

"Dom Cobb," he informed her. "My colleague informs me that you know about dreaming."

"Eames; isn't it?" she checked his colleagues name and Cobb nodded and she shrugged. "I might."

"I think you definitely do," Cobb challenged her and she arched a brow in his direction and he chuckled to himself, looking onto the rain as he thought about the story which he was about to tell her. He only hoped that his method would work. He only hoped that she could understand why he was doing this to her fiancé. "I understand the need you feel to protect your fiancé."

"Do you?" she snapped back at him, her tone holding one of disbelief as she did so.

"Yes," he agreed. "I had a wife. I'd have done anything for her."

Jennifer remained quiet, wondering where this conversation was leading to as Cobb sighed once, pushing his hand through his hair as he did so. She didn't need to know the full story to his problems. She didn't need to understand what he had been through.

"I lost her to the dream world," he simply spoke and her eyes flashed back to him for a second before she looked onto the stormy weather. "I know how cruel a place it can be."

"I'm not naive to its ways either, Mr Cobb," Jennifer whispered. "I've seen what can happen in here."

"Have you?" he checked and she nodded slowly. "What happened?"

"My sister suffered the same fate," Jennifer whispered. He didn't need to know her past either. It appeared the two of them were extremely guarded people, their emotions didn't get the better of them and that was the way they intended for it to stay. Dom nodded in silent agreement.

"I'm sorry to hear about your wife, Mr Cobb," Jennifer said, politeness taking over her as she picked up some of the manners her parents had given her. "But, I want to know what I am doing here. I want to know what you intend to do to my fiancé."

"We don't intend to hurt him, make no mistake about that," Cobb assured her and she snorted loudly at him. "We have a job to complete. We wouldn't be doing this job...but...it is the only way for me to go home."

"Am I supposed to know what you're talking about?" Jenny wondered and Dom shook his head.

"No," he informed her. "Your fiancé is a wealthy man, Miss Reynolds. We've been asked to divulge into his mind and persuade him to split up his father's empire."

Jennifer remained silent at hearing that. She couldn't believe that they were in this mess because he wanted to stop Robert from becoming his father's heir.

"Who asked you?" she decided to enquire, not noting how Cobb's eyes flashed onto Saito.

"Someone who is not important to you," he promised her. "We're going into his mind and attempting to reconcile his bond with his father, resulting in the company splitting up."

"Reconcile with Maurice?" Jennifer checked with Cobb, managing to finally look him in the eye. "Do you expect me to sit here and let you do that to Robert?"

"Unfortunately for you, yes," Cobb said, his voice stern and commanding as she bit down on her tongue, trying to compose herself. "This is the only way for me to get home to my children. Your fiancé is in safe hands."

"You're using him and trying to get him to do something which is preposterous," she snapped at Cobb. "Robert and Maurice were never going to make up with each other. How do you intend to get him to split up his father's empire? It's like you're planting an idea in his head."

"Exactly," Cobb agreed with her. "We're telling him that his father wanted him to be something and he didn't want him to follow in his own footsteps."

"You're changing his future," Jennifer whispered. "His future has nothing to do with you or anyone else, for that matter."

"We could be changing his future for the better," Cobb hissed to her. "He can be his own man and he can feel as though he has reconciled with his father. Is that not what he wanted?"

"I don't know," Jennifer admitted to Cobb, her eyes darting across the room and to the door which her fiancé was behind as she toyed with the engagement ring on her finger. "Robert never spoke highly of his father. Deep down I know that he always wanted to make him proud. Nothing was ever good enough."

"This idea which we are trying to plant could be good for him," Cobb said, trying to get her to see the brighter side of things as she struggled to do that. Her head drooped and her glazed eyes checked the grey material of her dress as she thought about what Cobb was telling her. "You can't tell him about any of this."

"How can I not?" Jennifer snapped back to him. "Do you think that by me keeping your secret then I am keeping Robert safe?" she wondered from him and he shrugged.

"We will do that," Cobb spoke and Jennifer sighed once, tired of the constant reassurances which she was receiving. Frankly, none of them meant anything to her. "I need to know that you won't say anything to him and then you can be with him through this. He could use your support."

"And if I say something to him?" Jennifer enquired and Cobb pushed his firm hand through his hair and looked her in the eye.

"If you mutter something about our plan to him then I will make sure that you don't see him for the rest of the dream," Cobb promised her and she jutted her chin out, thinking about what he had just said to her. "It is your choice. Either way, he won't find out that he is dreaming until we decide."

"You're really desperate to get home, aren't you?" Jennifer checked with him, sensing the tone in his voice was one of control yet pleading. He nodded in agreement, words being unable to convey how desperate he truly was. Jennifer felt her head nod once in agreement to the terms of Cobb's arrangement and she wiped her eyes slightly, standing up and smoothing out her dress.

"Which decision is it?"

"I want to be with him," she declared to Cobb. "But if we wake up then I intend to tell him about everything."

"By that time it will be too late. Why are you so concerned with us splitting up his empire?"

"It is Robert's inheritance and future. I don't think that you have any right to be meddling in it," she declared, her arms folded and her eyes fierce as she spoke to him. "For now, I intend to stick by his side. I'll play it by ear."

"You're not to say anything to him, Miss Reynolds. Do you understand?" Cobb checked and she forced her head to nod. Agreeing with him would be the only way to get to see Robert. She would go along with his plan for now. But, if she got the chance to stop this operation then she would.

Cobb stood up and placed his mask back onto his face, his arm gripping onto Jennifer as he opened the door wide and saw Fischer sat by the floor, his hand moving through the air as he looked to the ceiling and spoke about experience with his father.

"Jenny," Fischer sighed once and Cobb allowed a stern nod over to Eames who was doing a swell impression of Browning. Eames nodded back as Robert stood up and Cobb pushed Jenny towards the young billionaire who took her into his hold.

"Are you okay? What did they do to you?" Robert asked her as Cobb stood in the corner of the room. She wasn't being let of his sight in case she blurted something out to her fiancé.

"I'm fine," she promised Robert, unable to look him in the eye as his hands moved up and down her sides, finally resting on her cheeks as he brought her chin upwards so that he could look at her. "I'm okay."

"We'll get out of this," he simply sighed, taking a hold of her hand and then sitting back down on the floor. Jenny slid down the wall, her eyes glaring at Cobb as she did so and Robert wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing her on the top of her head before a shaky sigh of relief escaped his plump lips.

"Miss Reynolds," Browning/Eames said as soon as Jenny entwined her fingers into Robert's. "They got you too?"

"A case of unfortunate luck," she spoke simply. She never liked Browning. She never had done and she never would do. Robert tolerated him as he was his godfather and his father's closest friend. He was the man who was powerful and wanted the company to succeed. He was also the man who had agreed with Maurice about a prenuptial to the extent where they were both blue in the face over talking about it.

"I would say so," Browning responded. "They're trying to crack the code to the safe out of Robert."

"I don't know any code," Robert spoke down to his fiancé, his face full of strain as his free hand ran through his black hair and Jenny squeezed his hand. Why did they need the code to a safe? She was in a world which she couldn't understand or even begin to comprehend. "If I did then I would tell them."

"I know," Jenny agreed with him and yawned gently to herself, feeling her shoulders shake slightly as Robert released her hand, sliding his designer jacket from his arms and draping it over her shoulders, holding her tightly to him after he did so. "How long do you have to remember?"

"An hour," Robert whispered, checking his watch. "And that was forty minutes ago."

"There has to be something," Browning pushed Robert. "Some code or something?"

"I've told you that there was nothing," Robert snapped again. "You know that my father and I didn't have any meaningful experiences."

"Perhaps after your mother died?"

Robert snorted once as Jennifer remained quiet, listening as Robert chuckled to himself and shook his head.

"We didn't have many conversations after that," Robert whispered and Jennifer struggled to listen to the remainder of the conversation. Robert never spoke about his past. He never liked to open up to her about what had happened when he was a young boy and she never pushed him for an answer of any kind. "Do you know what he said to me? He said; 'Robert, there really is nothing to say.'"

"Well...you know what...he...your father was like..." Browning stammered and Robert turned his glare onto the elder man.

"I was eleven," he snapped and Jenny closed her eyes, unable to imagine what he had gone through.

"I'm sorry," Browning said and Robert shrugged, looking back to Jenny as he did so.

"What does it matter now?"

"It matters because he was your father, Robert," she informed him. "You're not supposed to grow up hearing things like that."

"It's too late to change the past," he said, his voice trying to be nonchalant as he said it. Jennifer took a moment to look at him and study the secrets behind his blue orbs. Yes, it was the past, but, there was something there. There was something in his eyes which suggested that he wanted to be able to change the past. And that was when Jenny wondered about what to really do.

...

A/N: So I forgot to thank Ally, Belladonna007, trudes193 and SARAHBABE215 for reviewing before. If you're reading this then thank you for taking the time to do so! Reviews are appreciated so let me know what you think so far!


	8. Chapter 8

"You spent your entire life trying to please him, didn't you?" Jennifer looked up to Robert who looked forward and at Cobb who was standing in the corner. His mind kept working overtime, trying to find out what numbers they could have wanted him to find, but, nothing popped out to him.

"I tried," Robert shrugged once as Browning remained silent. Eames was well aware that time was running out. He wasn't probing Fischer as much as he should have been. But, Jennifer seemed to be doing a good job in asking the questions for him. Eames wondered if she was thinking about coming along with the plot. He wondered if she wanted her fiancé and Maurice to reconcile. The money didn't seem to motivate her; that much was apparent.

"But...didn't you want to ever make it up? I mean...like...you never spoke about him much," she said and Robert arched a perfect brown down to her, wondering where she was going with her quizzing before she shrugged gently at him.

"Of course," he whispered so that Browning had to strain to hear him. "I wanted nothing more than for him to care about me. In the end I was never good enough, Jenny. Nothing is going to change that."

His fiancée turned away from looking at him, her thumb stroking his knuckle as she did so. Her eyes met with Cobb's as he finally seemed appeased and left the room, knowing that she wasn't going to say anything to Robert just yet. She was in a dilemma, she had to admit it. She wanted the best for Robert, but, she didn't know whether that would be telling him or letting him go deeper, giving him the chance to make up with his father.

She banged her head gently against the wall behind her as Robert looked slightly confused as to what he was hearing from her. She had never asked him about his relationship with his father before. He had never been too happy to divulge information with her, preferring to keep his business private. She didn't need to know what he had been through. It was in the past.

"We're going to be okay," he suddenly spoke out to her, sensing how she was quiet. He didn't know what she was thinking about. He was just trying to be the reassuring fiancé. "Honestly, we're going to get out of here."

"You don't know that, Robert," Jennifer replied in a gentle voice. "We don't know what's going to happen, do we?"

"I'm trying...well..." Robert said, knowing that she was right and he remained quiet. He didn't know what was going to happen. He just hoped that things would turn out for the best.

"I know," she assured him, closing her eyes and leaning her head against his shoulder as Browning began to speak. "I'm sorry."

"Time's up!" Cobb's voice suddenly yelled out as he and Arthur moved back into the room and Jennifer saw them point the gun to her fiancé. She was about to snap at them, reminding them that they had promised not to hurt him. What were they doing pointing a gun at him? "What's the code?"

"I don't know," Robert replied again, still sitting on the floor as Cobb began to yell once again.

"Think!" he roared. "Think about it! Give me the first six numbers which pop into your head!"

"I can't think of any!"

"Right now!" Cobb yelled again, the phone against his ear as he did so. "I said right now!"

"Five...two...eight...four...nine...one..." Robert managed to snap out loud and Cobb shook his head, snapping the phone shut as he did so.

"You're going to have to do better than that. Bag them."

...

"How very nice of you to join the waking world, darling."

Jennifer frowned to herself, feeling her body began to stiffen as she awoke from the daze which she had been in as she looked around the room, still laying on the double bed inside the luxury suite. She sat up, gently rubbing her hand to her head before looking around, noting Eames sat in the small, leather chair, his legs crossed and his hands holding his chin.

"What's happening?" she enquired, the red dress covering her body as she thought long and hard about how she got here.

"We're in the next dream," he informed her. "It's a much nicer place than that warehouse which we were in, I can assure you of that."

"Where's Robert?" Jennifer asked; her voice a simple mutter as she swung her legs off of the bed and Eames stood up, ready to block her from running to the door as he did so.

"He's in the bar. He's waiting for you to join him," Eames promised. "I've been told about how you're wondering whether or not to tell him about our plan."

"It's none of your concern," she snapped at Eames.

"Whatever you say," Eames replied. "Cobb also mentioned something about your sister being lost to the dream world, hence why you're so knowledgeable about it."

"Did he?" Jennifer wondered, her head feeling slightly woozy as she did so. "Well...that was a long time ago."

"Care to tell me what happened?" Eames asked and she shook her head.

"I haven't even told Robert," she informed him. "What makes you think that I will tell you?"

"As you wish," Eames assured her. "Robert is in the Canterbury Longue downstairs. Try not to get into trouble on the way down."

Jennifer gave one swift glance back over to Eames before she moved from the hotel suite, wondering what was going on before she moved down the hallway, hitting the button to the elevator and allowing it to take her down to the ground floor. The marble lobby of the hotel was exquisite, reflections showing up whichever way you glanced as she moved down the hallway and past the reception desk, looking around for the bar which Robert was going to be in. She saw him sat at the bar, a small glass of whiskey in his hand as he looked straight ahead, his thoughts preoccupied as Jennifer made her way over to him, smoothing out the red dress as she did so.

"Hi," Robert smiled when he saw her and she bent down to kiss him on the cheek quickly. He caught the bartender's attention before she turned around in her seat, checking to see if she could see anyone she recognised. Now was her chance to tell him. She could tell him everything and stop their plan. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she promised him, forcing herself to smile and he nodded once back to her. "You're drinking."

Robert looked down at his glass and shrugged once, tipping the liquid back into his throat as a vodka and coke was placed in front of Jennifer and she sipped at it through the straw.

"I think I'm allowed a drink every once in a little while," he smirked lightly at her.

"You are okay, aren't you?" she checked with him and he nodded once, his brow arched as he looked at her.

"Why would you think otherwise?"

"I'm just checking. You know...being a fiancée?" she said and Robert chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as he did so.

"And as your fiancé," he whispered slowly, "I should tell you that the dress which you're wearing has a smudge on it."

"What?" Jenny wondered as Robert allowed his finger to move to her thigh and he pointed at the black smudge on her dress as she groaned.

"I don't know what it is," he informed her as she jumped down from her bar stool.

"I'll be back in a moment," she excused herself and hurried out to the women's rest room as she did so. She took her time, checking her reflection and dabbing at the mark on the red material which clutched to her waist and she sighed, realising the mark hadn't gone, but, she did have a nice wet patch to highlight it. She dropped her hands together and towards the front of her body, hiding it as she walked back into the bar, noting a slim, blonde woman stood next to Robert, her lips beside his ear as Jennifer's blood turned hot.

"What's going on?" she demanded from her fiancé as he jumped back in his seat, looking at Jenny as she glared at the young blonde.

"Nothing," she denied. "I was just about to leave," she spoke, winking at Robert as he shook his head and she noted the napkin with the digits on it. She didn't gain the chance to see the numbers in full to work out that they were fake as Robert held his hands up in innocence.

"I didn't say anything," he assured her and she bit down on the inside of her cheek.

"I'm going up to change," she spoke, her voice curt as she did so.

"Jenny!" he called out to her. "I didn't do anything."

She believed him. Of course she did. She was just annoyed that someone had made a move on him and that someone wasn't even unattractive. She sighed once, pressing the button to the elevator before feeling someone following her into the cab.

"You stay away from my fiancé!" she snapped loudly as she noted the blonde close the doors and she chuckled once, her hand moving out and stroking Jenny's cheek as she did so, causing her head to turn to the side to look at her reflection in the mirror. "Jesus!" she called out loud, seeing the man chuckling in the glass before she looked back at the blonde. "What are you doing?"

"I'm the shape shifter of the pack, darling," he informed her. "No need to get jealous. Fischer rejected me straight away."

"God...even in a dream I'm annoyed with him," Jennifer rolled her eyes, stepping back from Eames as she did so. "And I've left him...crap..."

"That was the plan," Eames admitted. "You'd go into a jealous rage and storm out. We just need you out the picture for some time."

"Why?" she wondered as Eames finally turned back into his normal appearance and the elevator doors chimed open. He extended his arm out the doors and Jenny followed him, allowing his hand to rest on the small of her back and guide her through the hallways.

"All shall be revealed soon enough."


	9. Chapter 9

"No," Eames smirked as soon as he saw Jenny try to move for the door of the suite which they were staying in. She huffed to herself as she felt his hand wrap around her wrist and he pulled her behind him and back into the room, his hands on her shoulders as he sat her down in the seat he had been occupying. "I've told you that you need to wait for a while."

"What are you telling Robert?" she demanded to know, folding her legs and then pushing a hand through her hair which was becoming slightly sweaty. The entire ordeal was something which she didn't understand and she didn't know how to handle it. She watched as Eames moved around the room with ease, doing his tie up again as he looked into the mirror and checked his reflection was near perfect as Jenny watched him with intrigue.

"We're telling him that he is in a dream," Eames said and Jenny sighed slightly, relief washing through her body as she heard that. "So, you don't need to worry about lying to him anymore."

"I wasn't lying," Jenny denied. "I just wasn't telling him the precise truth."

"Anyway, he now knows that we are in his dream." Eames assured her. "His own mind is seeing Browning as the one who began the kidnapping."

"What?" Jennifer snapped and she shook her head. "Browning set this up?"

"Apparently so," Eames said, continuing his lie with her. It would be so much easier if she just believed that it was Browning who was pulling the stunts then they would be safe. She would be back on the same wave length as Fischer and they didn't need to worry about her saying anything further to him which they didn't want her to. Eames informed her how Browning was doing this because the Empire is everything he had worked for and he knows what is in Fischer's will and he can't let Robert destroy it.

"What's in the will?" Jenny pondered and Eames smirked once at her.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he checked, a small smile escaping his lips as he did so and she rolled her eyes, curling into a ball on the chair.

"Yes, hence why I asked," she snapped at him, tired of being spoken to in a code as Eames chuckled darkly and stuffed his hands into his pockets, shaking his head as he did so.

"I don't know," he said to her, finding it easier than explaining anymore. "Browning knows. Robert will find out soon enough."

"What do you mean?" Jenny arched a brow. "How is he going to find the will?"

"We're going to go under again," Eames shrugged and Jenny remained mute, looking around the suite and allowing her eyes to settle on the bed's cushion whilst Eames took in her response and sat himself down on the edge of the bed, leaning forwards and clasping his hands together, studying her like she was some piece of difficult Ancient Latin.

"What happened to you in the dream world?" he pondered; his voice soft as Jennifer's eyes found his and he shook his head as she began to protest. "Tell me the truth. Whatever happened is something which worries you, isn't it?"

"Why are you interested?" she whispered back to him and he shrugged, sitting upright and sniffing once, running the back of his hand under his nose as he did so.

"Because we have time to kill and this is clearly distressing you," Eames informed her and she chuckled once in sarcasm at hearing that, her arms wrapping around her knees as she sat in the comfortable, leather chair and remained looking over to Eames.

"My sister was a dreamer," Jennifer admitted to him, looking into his large eyes as he remained staring back at her, remaining silent and allowing her to continue. "Eventually she couldn't figure out what was real and what wasn't. Her and her boyfriend were always dreaming. They were always going into dreams...telling themselves that it was better to be there...life seemed easier..."

"She saw the dream as her reality?" Eames checked with Jennifer who nodded and looked back to him, moisture pooling around her eyes as she did so.

"She took me into it one time," Jennifer shrugged. "She told me that this was the real world. She tried to convince me that she was talking sense. My parents found out. They told her she was insane and living in a fantasy. I didn't know what to think. I was only young at the time."

"What happened?" Eames pushed her, hearing the sharp intake of breath and the faltering of her breathing before she looked across to the door of the room.

"She jumped off a bridge. She convinced herself she couldn't live in the real world. Her boyfriend was with her the entire time. Both of them became deluded," Jennifer whispered and concluded the story before untangling her limbs from each other and making a move to stand up. Eames did the same thing as Jennifer looked to the floor.

"Some people just can't accept their reality," he spoke, his accent thick against the soft tone of his whisper. "Dreaming is better for them."

"But that's all it is," Jennifer replied. "It is just a dream. It isn't real. No one can dream forever."

"Some people would like to," Eames responded. "Your sister is one the few who have done that."

"I read about some others," Jennifer admitted with a nonchalant shrug. "Can you do me a favour?"

"And what would that be?"

"Just...don't tell anyone about this...okay? Even Robert doesn't know...so..."

"It's kind of a big thing?" Eames checked and she nodded in agreement as he placed his hands onto his hips and smirked broadly. "I shan't tell a soul, darling."

"I'd best get back to Robert," she said, motioning to the door whilst Eames checked his watch and nodded in agreement with her. Enough time had passed for them to be able to leave the hotel suite. The pair of them took the elevator back down to the ground floor, allowing the doors to open before they jumped back at the sudden people bursting into it. Eames remained cool, stepping out as Robert stepped in, his hands raised and resting on Jennifer's arms as he looked at her.

"Are you okay?" he checked, Cobb closing the elevator doors and Jennifer nodded at him, her eyes wide as she took in his pale face and panicked expression.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "What's happening?"

"It is what you've just been discussing with my colleague, Miss Reynolds," Cobb spoke, offering her his hand. "I'm Mr Charles."

"Discussing?" Robert asked, looking between the pair of them as Cobb nodded sternly at Jennifer, willing her to agree with them as he did so. "What colleague? Do you know?"

"Miss Reynolds has been informed of the situation, Mr Fischer. The main priority is to get away from the men following us and then you need to think back to the numbers which you were asked to remember," Cobb said and Robert heard the elevator ding open as Cobb grabbed his arm, pushing him out and down the corridor, the two men rushing ahead as Jennifer stuck close to Robert's side, hesitating as she saw them open the door to the men's bathroom.

"Come on," Robert urged her, holding the door open and she stepped inside, the pair of them moving down the rows of cubicles as the door swung open again and two men with guns entered, pointing their devices at Robert who took Jennifer into his hold, pushing her body behind his as Cobb leapt forward at them, a gun sliding across the floor and Robert bent down to pick it up.

Cobb hastily shot the men with his gun as Robert looked at him, his eyes wide with panic.

"What are you doing?" he snapped at Cobb.

"Those men were trying to kill you. I did what I had to." He informed Robert who ran his hands through his hair and looked down to the gun before glancing at Jenny.

"If this is a dream then I should just wake myself up, shouldn't I?" he asked her and her mouth parted gently. She nodded once, remembering about the kick or being timed out. Her sister had told her plenty of times.

"Do it to me," Jenny spoke softly whilst Cobb checked the dead men for weapons. She wrapped her hand around his wrist and he shook his head.

"I can't shoot you," he replied, "even if this is a dream."

"Just do it, Robert," she spoke and he shook his head. She wanted to get out of this dream, but, she didn't have the guts to shoot Robert either. She took a deep breath, snatching the gun from his hand and deciding to take the lead before Cobb rushed forwards.

"No!" he snapped at her, trying to prise the gun from her grasp. But, the lock wasn't on. The shot echoed around the room as Jenny stumbled back, her hand moving onto her stomach.

"Jenny...Jenny..." Robert's voice spoke out as Cobb kicked at a cubicle door. "What did you do?" he roared at Cobb, sinking to his knees and holding his fiancée to his side, pressing down onto her wound.

"I was trying to get the gun," Cobb said.

"Will she wake up?" Robert worried, looking as the blood seeped from her body.

"No...the kick won't work...if she dies then she's trapped in limbo," Cobb explained and Robert shook his head, confusion evident through his scrunched up features.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that she would be trapped in the dream world forever."


	10. Chapter 10

"What the hell is limbo?" Robert snapped, his hand pushing his hair out of his face as he sat Jenny up, his other hand still resting on her stomach in a feeble attempt to stop the bleeding from her that area. Her whole dress was now drenched in blood and her breathing was becoming shallow. Cobb knew that he had to act before something terrible happened to her. He had no choice but to take her down to the next level. They had to keep her going. She and Saito were in the same boat.

"It's a constant dream...she'll be asleep for a long time."

"How long?"

"Decades...months...it is hard to say. There is nothing down there," Cobb spoke, his own hands shaking as he pushed his blonde hair behind his ears and Robert seemed to pale more than he had thought possible, his head moving from side to side as if he were watching some tennis match.

"No," Robert replied. "Is there no way to save her? This isn't real. There has to be a way."

"We need to take her down to the next dream with us."

"A dream within a dream?" Robert checked and Cobb nodded.

"But we need to act quickly, Mr Fischer," he informed Robert who looked down at Jenny who managed to flutter her lids open and look up to him, managing a small and encouraging smile on her face as she squeezed his hand and he resisted the urge to cry in front of her. He couldn't do that. He had to be strong for her sake. "We need you to remember the numbers which they had asked you for the safe code."

"Christ," Robert mumbled, bowing his head as he did so and closing his eyes. "Five...there was a five there...a two...eight..."

"Keep going, Mr Fischer," Cobb pushed him and the young man gulped loudly, looking up to the ceiling as if it held the answer.

"Four...yes, four...nine...and one!"

"That's good," Cobb spoke and pulled his phone out quickly whilst Jenny spoke lowly.

"You're going to be fine," she promised Robert and he smiled down at her, trying to not sniff loudly as he bent his mouth down to her forehead and kissed her gently.

"So are you," he assured her.

"Mr Fischer, we need to be going," Cobb said. "Can you carry Jenny or would you like me to?"

"I can," Robert said and he managed to stand on his wobbling two feet before carrying her in his arms, holding her tightly against his side. Blood fell onto his jacket as he did so but he didn't care. His main priority was keeping his fiancée safe and alive. After what had happened he couldn't believe it.

The two men swiftly moved down the hallways until they saw another man and a young woman stood outside a room, the pair of them eyeing them with some familiarity. Cobb turned back to look at the hesitant Fischer and he nodded in assuring at him.

"They're working with us," he promised Robert who nodded once. He didn't care who they were. His main priority was getting Jenny down to the next level and making sure she was safe. Cobb led Fischer past Ariadne and Arthur into the suit, motioning to the bed where he laid Jenny, sitting on the edge of it and holding onto her hand.

"What the hell happened?" Arthur hissed at Cobb who rested his hands onto his hips and shook his head, looking onto the plush carpet whilst Ariadne remained confused and dazed.

"She shot herself...well...during a tussle. I told her not to. She didn't listen to me," Cobb snapped out and Arthur couldn't resist the roll of his eyes. "We need to take her down to the next dream with us."

"Brilliant," Arthur said; sarcasm apparent in his voice as he did so. "We need to act quickly then."

"We will," Cobb replied, his head nodding to the doorway where the projection of Peter Browning stood.

"Robert?" he called out and Fischer's eyes turned to the doorway and his eyes went wide as he saw him. "What happened to Jennifer?"

"Stay away from her," Robert said lowly. "It was you, wasn't it? You planned the kidnapping."

"Robert," Browning shook his head. "I did what I had to do. I had to keep you from biting the bait which your father set up for you."

"What are you talking about?" Fischer asked, his brows furrowing together and his hand holding Jenny's still, stroking her knuckle whilst Ariadne found a blanket and scrunched it up, pressing down on the wound.

"Your father's last will was a taunt to you. He wanted you to dissolve the company. I couldn't let you do that. I've worked hard enough for that Empire. I can't let you rise up to his taunt."

"Why would I ruin my own inheritance?" Fischer enquired and Browning sighed once as Cobb spoke again. "I wouldn't be stupid enough to do that."

"I couldn't take the risk." Browning defended himself and Robert contained the snort which wanted to escape his lips before he noted Eames and Saito enter the room, both of them looking out of breath as they did so.

"Eames," Cobb spoke loudly, jutting his chin out in the direction of Browning and Eames nodded in understanding, moving his gun from his hold and hitting the man on top of the head, knocking him out as Robert pointed to his godfather.

"What did you do that for?" he wondered, his voice stressed and curt.

"We need him to come down with us and you need to go into his dream to see what he has been hiding from you. It is the only way to see what has been happening and keep your fiancée alive."

"Jesus Christ," Robert complained as Eames noted the young woman on the bed and he moved over to her, his finger reaching out and he checked the pulse on her neck.

"What happened to her?" he asked and Robert's eyes moved down onto his hand on his fiancée's neck and he glowered at him.

"She's been shot," he simply said. He couldn't admit that he blamed himself for what had happened to her. He had been the one who had the gun. He shouldn't have let her snatch it from him.

"We need to go now, Mr Fischer," Cobb said and Robert nodded, helping them to set up the process for going into the next dream.

...

"Jenny...Jenny..." Robert coughed out as he woke up again, his body covered in a large white coat. It made it hard for him to stand up as he looked around himself and noted Ariadne and Cobb.

It took a moment for him to look to the side where Eames stood, his body bent down as he helped Jennifer up from the floor and Saito knelt in the snow, coughing up blood.

"Robert," Jennifer mumbled his name, her voice low and confused as he stumbled closer to her and took her from Eames' hold, unable to believe that she was still with him. "What's happening?"

"My godfather isn't everything he has claimed to be," he said to her, still disgusted with what he had heard. "We need to get going, Jen."

Jennifer nodded quickly in agreement before doubling over in pain and wheezing as blood fell from her mouth and Cobb exchanged knowing glances with Eames.

"Couldn't you dream up a beach, huh?" Fischer complained, his hands resting on Jenny's cheeks and feeling the cold as he did so.

"We'll take that into consideration next time," Eames mumbled back to him with a roll of his eyes.

...

A/N: No reviews for the last few chapters, but, thanks to anyone who is still reading this and is following!


	11. Chapter 11

"Right, Ariadne, you're with me," Cobb declared, looking around the team. Robert was still too wrapped up in making sure his fiancée was okay instead of listening to Cobb and getting the job done. Jenny was doing her best in listening to what he was saying, but, she was finding it hard with Robert's constant fretting about her. She assured him that she was fine on multiple occasions, but, he didn't seem to be buying it.

"Saito, you and Fischer get up to the fortress, okay?" Cobb checked and the man nodded, trying not to cough up blood whilst Robert's ears pricked up at hearing that.

"Whoa," he spoke. "What about Jenny? I'm not leaving her."

"No offence, Mr Fischer, but your fiancée is injured. Eames will stay with her and make sure she is safe. Where you're going isn't the best place for her." Cobb spoke and Robert gulped, looking to Jenny who remained silent and pensive. She was the one who shook her head that time, looking around the crew as she did so.

"No. I need to go with him," she piped up, placing her opinion forwards whilst Cobb mentally cursed for having such stubborn people to deal with.

"No," Robert disagreed with her. "You stay safe. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't!" Jenny snapped back at him.

"It isn't up for discussion, Jennifer," Robert said and she arched a brow at him, folding her arms against her chest as she did so, and her eyes glaring into his.

"So, we're on full names, are we now?" she checked and he rolled his blue orbs, looking at Eames who had a grin of amusement on his face.

"Take her with you," Robert demanded him, quickly kissing her on the cheek whilst Eames grabbed onto her wrist and hauled him back to her, allowing the other four to go into the snow, finding the fortress deeper away whilst Jennifer snapped her grip from Eames and followed after him as he trudged his feet into the snow and she struggled to keep up with him.

"What are we going to do?" she enquired and he shrugged at her, looking around and seeing if there was any more projections to randomly come at them.

"We're going to find our own way up to the fortress. Fischer should be able to get into the safe by then," he informed her and she ran to his side as he walked off, her eyes looking up to him as he focused on his surroundings, too worried about what could happen as she bit down on her bottom lip. It was something which she did out of worry and stress.

"And he still doesn't know what is in that safe?" she wondered and Eames confirmed her belief.

"Tell me, how did you two meet?" he randomly asked as they stood by some trees, the sudden noise of yelling and sirens going off as she looked at him with wide eyes and he pulled out a gun, throwing it over to her and she looked at it with worry.

"What is this?" she snapped.

"Even I can tell it is a gun, love," he said and she rolled her eyes.

"Do you think I know how to use it?"

"No idea," he said nonchalantly. "We'll soon find out. How did you meet him?"

"Why do you want to know?" she wondered and he sighed. Why was speaking to her such hard work? He supposed he couldn't blame her. They were trying to incept her fiancé's mind.

"I'm trying to distract you," he admitted. "Give us something to talk about for a moment."

"I worked with the accountants who dealt with his father's money," Jenny said, pushing her hair behind her ears as she heard Robert's projections blow something up. Eames remained calm and pensive, nothing seeming to bother him as she spoke. "He came in one day and wanted to pick some paperwork up. I was the one to meet him...well...he was directed to the wrong room. The photocopying room to be precise. I was swearing and yelling at it because it wouldn't work and he was just standing there in the doorway and watching."

"Not the typical romantic girl sees boy and realises she wants to spend the rest of her life with him then?" Eames grinned and Jennifer snorted but rolled her eyes at his comment.

"When has anyone ever fallen in love that way?" she wondered and Eames tilted his head to the side and raised his brows, his face agreeing with her as he suddenly heard a snow jet moving towards them.

"Time for a little action, darling. Do you think you can handle this?" Eames enquired.

"Probably not."

"That's the spirit," he mumbled to her before suddenly jumping out from the tree, his gun in his hand as he aimed it at the jet which had gone straight passed them. One simple shot was all it took for them to fall from the machine which went crashing into the nearest tree. Eames rushed over as Jennifer followed, managing to fall down in the snow a couple of times as he sat on the machine and discovered the accelerator and the brakes. What more could he need?

"Hop on," he instructed her and she did as he had asked, sitting on the back of it and he chuckled. "You can wrap your arms around me. It isn't cheating on Fischer." He promised her and she did as he had said.

...

"Go up there to Cobb!" Eames yelled at Jennifer as another projection advanced towards them and he pointed to a ladder which led up to a platform opposite the fortress. Eames remained holding onto his gun, shooting quickly as he found a grenade and Jenny did as he had told her to, quickly jumping onto the step and pushing herself up them with as much might as she could manage.

"What are you doing here?" Cobb asked her as Ariadne looked to the side and where she was stood.

"Eames told me to come," she replied. "We're in deep trouble down there. Where's Robert?"

"He's going in now," Cobb informed her, looking back at where Robert was, about to crack into the safe. She watched him too as he cautiously made his way over to it and she remained silent, wondering what he was going to find.

"Who is she?" she wondered from him and Cobb froze whilst Ariadne felt panic set into her body.

"She's not real!" she snapped at Cobb as he watched the woman release herself from the rope she had dangled down on and Ariadne hit Cobb's arm, pointing over to the fortress as she did so. "Fischer is real! Fischer is the one who is real! You have to save him!"

"What are you talking about?" Jennifer wondered, her head moving from Fischer and then back to Cobb before she saw the woman draw out a gun.

"Cobb!" Ariadne yelled.

"Robert!" Jennifer screeched his name and she watched him turn around, looking out the thin glass windows as he did so. He barely noted his fiancé as the woman stood opposite him aimed her gun and quickly shot him. It took Cobb another moment before he shot her, seeing her body crumble to the floor. Jennifer stood up, managing to hold onto the railing as Ariadne made sure she didn't tumble.

"You promised me!" she yelled at Cobb. "You promised me that you would keep him safe! You lied!"

"I'm sorry," Cobb said and Jennifer shook her head, feeling herself crying as she did so. "We need to get across there."

Cobb allowed Ariadne to lead the way with Jennifer close on her trail, her feet running as they entered the room where Fischer lay. Jenny knelt by his side, picking his head up and resting it in her lap, her hand tracing the hole in his coat where the bullet had pierced as she felt herself begin to cough, her stomach aching and the pain surging through her.

"That's that then," Eames' voice suddenly rang out around the room as everyone wondered what came next.

...

A/N: Thank you to NeedNotNoName, NewSlove and Lovely Rain Dancer for reviewing. Just to clarify that when Eames knocked Browning out then Browning was simply a projection from Fischer.

Please do review!


	12. Chapter 12

"Who was she?" Jennifer demanded from Cobb as he walked over to the woman lying on the floor on the other side of the building. Her dark curls framed her face as Cobb looked down to her, his eyes trying not to tear up and his features impassive. He realised that he couldn't give the game away yet. He couldn't do anything to risk being seen as weak. But, that was it. They'd lost Robert. There was no way that they could do anything about it.

"My wife," Cobb replied to Jenny. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at him and Eames rested a hand onto her shoulder, gently squeezing it before she could ask any more questions regarding Mrs Cobb.

"It's a story for another time, darling," he informed her, sitting behind her on a small ledge which was there. Jennifer pushed Robert's hair from his eyes, allowing herself to cough loudly over his body as she did so. She was becoming weak. There was no doubt about it that she was getting worse.

"It's not over," Ariadne quickly spoke out. "We can still find Fischer."

"How?" Cobb wondered aloud, his shoulder shrugging quickly as he was about to dismiss her idea. Jennifer listened on with intent, glaring at Cobb before speaking up.

"If there's a way to get him back then what is it?" she barked out.

"We follow him into limbo," Ariadne said as if it was that simple. Cobb looked at her for a second, understanding where she was coming from whilst Saito fell to the floor, his body slowly giving up on him as Jennifer looked around the room. "If we follow him into limbo then we just need to improvise a kick to get out of there."

"It's dangerous," Cobb spoke up.

"I'll go," Jennifer nominated herself. "He's my fiancé."

"And you're becoming weaker by the second," Cobb reminded her. "You would be no use down there. You need to stay on this dream level and hang on until the kick happens. If you die here then you'll be lost in limbo, too. That would be no good for anyone."

"But, he's my fiancé," Jennifer complained, but, Cobb remained adamant.

"No," he spoke. "Ariadne and I will do it. You need to stay here and stay alive."

"I'll use a defibrillator to revive Fischer," Eames spoke up, preparing the equipment for Ariadne and Cobb to go under into one more dream level with haste as he looked around the room, wondering when Fischer's projections were going to become nasty once again. He needed to secure the room and make sure no one would interrupt. For the time that Fischer was unconscious then they'd be safe for a while. He knew that much.

"Okay. Eames, you're in charge. Try to look after Saito and Miss Reynolds," Cobb demanded, lying on the floor opposite Ariadne as he did so and Eames smirked gently.

"I'll be fine, dear," he assured Cobb and sent him to sleep before looking over to where Jennifer still sat, determined not to die inside the dream as she toyed with Robert's hair around her fingers.

"Why is Cobb's wife here?" Jennifer suddenly spoke up whilst Eames quickly rushed around the room, checking Saito's pulse and looking through the window, making sure they were secure as he locked the doors and allowed himself to glance at the safe in the room which was locked.

"He keeps projecting her image. He can't help but do it. I've heard it has happened in a few dreams which he has been in. You know about him losing her to the dream world, right?" Eames checked with Jennifer and she nodded at him, moving her limbs as they became sore. She dropped Robert's head onto her knees as she stretched her legs outwards, allowing her head to dangle against the wall she was leant against.

"So...what...she's trapped down here and keeps finding him?" Jennifer checked and Eames shrugged ruefully.

"It is something like that." He agreed with her. "He keeps forgetting that she's not real. Of course, it would be hard for any of us to imagine shooting someone we love regardless of if they are real or not."

"Yes," Jennifer replied, coughing lightly as Eames knelt down by her side, his large orbs looking into hers as he rested his hand onto her neck, checking her pulse as he did so. She was weakening. Jennifer froze at the contact his fingers made with her neck as his other hand rested on her cheek, tucking her own hair behind her ear as he did so.

"You need to stay with me," he implored her in a low voice. "You're becoming weak. Hang on, okay?"

"I don't know how," Jenny replied in a murmur, her eyes searching Eames's as she did so. "I'm scared," she admitted to him and he closed his eyes for a second, gulping loudly before nodding at her.

"I know you are," he spoke slowly. "We're going to get you out of her, love. You and Fischer will be fine. Believe me."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know Cobb," Eames responded. "He'll get us through this. Of course he will."

"And what happens if I die on this level?" she enquired. "What's happened to Robert?"

"He's in limbo at the moment. If they didn't go for him then he'd just be left in a constant dreaming state. If you die here then that's what happens to you," Eames informed her and she looked down at Robert before Eames allowed his hand to snake under her chin, bringing her stare back onto him. "Hey, that's not going to happen."

"Okay," she muttered in response and he stood up quickly, hearing the sound of gunfire.

Jennifer could feel her body betraying her. She was becoming weak and tired. She knew that she didn't have that long left. Time seemed to tick by slowly as her eyes slowly closed and then opened when Eames yelled at her loudly not to sleep. She cursed him several times, knowing that sleep felt nicer than being awake.

She barely registered when Robert's body jolted awake, his breathing coming out in his gasps as he sat up and Eames smiled gently at seeing that. He rushed over to him, bending down and helping him to his feet as Robert's stare turned down to look at Jenny.

"What's happening?" he worried with her and Eames shook his head. They didn't have time for this. He needed to get him into the safe before inducing the kick.

"She's going to be fine. She's going to wake up in a moment. Go to the safe," Eames snapped at Fischer, pushing him along to the vault as the young man resisted to go. "If you don't do this then she will die," he warned him and Robert nodded sternly to himself at Eames attempt of blackmail.

The forger quickly rushed back to Saito, checking his pulse which was non-existent and he shook his head, thumping his fists onto the wall beside him before moving back over to Jennifer.

"Jenny...Jenny...love..." he cooed in her ear, his hands on her neck as his thumbs roamed up and down her bare skin and he felt the faint pulse there as she opened her eyes to look at him and he smiled encouragingly.

"Robert," she croaked his name out and he nodded at her.

"He's fine. He's okay, darling. He's awake. We need you to stay with us for another minute or two. Just until the kick," he urged her and she tried to nod, her mouth opening and closing for air as she did so. Eames remained silent for another few moments, knowing that the kick was coming soon.

...

Robert swam as fast as he could, pulling the bag from his head and pushing it away. He looked around, his eyes clouded in the water before he noted the man sat next to him and he remembered him as being his godfather. He quickly pulled the bag from Browning's head and the old man looked around in a daze before Fischer nodded at him, motioning to the exit and Browning took it.

Robert pushed himself from his seat, moving through the van and looking at the others inside of it, wondering who they really were as he found Jenny struggling to get out of her seatbelt. His calm hands moved over hers and she looked at him, both of them not really understanding what had just happened. Robert unclasped the belt, taking hold of her fingers into his before swimming through the van to the small hatch which had opened.

"Jenny!" Robert called out as soon as their heads bobbed about the surface of the water and she pushed her hair from her face, allowing the fresh air to hit her lungs as Robert watched her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes...I'm fine..." she assured him and he nodded, the pair of them beginning to swim to the shore. Robert helped his fiancée up the rocks, seeing her feet completely bare due to the loss of her heels and he settled down on the rocks, his hands pushing his hair from his face as he did so and he looked to the side where Jenny had nestled against him, her body sopping wet and the rain pouring down on them. Robert wrapped his arm around her waist as Browning took a seat beside him and he ran his other free hand over his chin.

"The will...my father wanted me to be my own man...he didn't want me to be like him...that's what I will do..."

Jennifer remained silent against his side, not particularly caring for what he intended to do to his father's company. The only thing that mattered was having him back and safe. She looked across to where Browning sat, the elder man looking onto the water before he turned to stare at her, his eyes seeming to glisten for a second before he nodded sternly and Jenny wondered where she had seen that look before.

...

A/N: Thank you again to Lovely Rain Dancer and NeedNotNoName for reviewing! This is far from the end, by the way. I have plans for after Inception too if anyone is interested!


	13. Chapter 13

"The captain has now turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. Please return to your seats and make sure your seatbelts are securely fastened. A member of the cabin crew shall be walking around to check that this is completed."

The atmosphere in the first class cabin was one of mixed emotions. Everyone was looking around at each other, small smiles on their faces as they did so. That was until they saw Cobb who had his eyes glaring at Saito. The man owed him big style. Jennifer sat up from her seat and yawned loudly, her hand resting over her mouth as she did so. She looked around the cabin and noted Robert turned in his seat, his eyes looking over at her as he smiled encouragingly to her.

Jenny smiled back at him before the air hostess asked if he needed any papers. He took them and went back to his contemplative mood. Jennifer took a glance around the cabin, her mind racing as her eyes fell onto the man who was sat to the right of her. He was looking at her with wide grey eyes before he adjusted the jacket on his arms and smiled once to her before turning to look back out of the window.

"Jennifer," Robert's voice brought her out of the daze which she had found herself in. She knew that everything felt slightly fuzzy. She knew that she had been asleep. But she knew that her dream was real. She knew something wasn't right. She looked up to Robert who remained unfazed by everything as the first class cabin quickly emptied. Jennifer stood up whilst Robert opened the overhead compartment.

"Well, it wasn't a bad flight, was it?" he checked with her and she shook her head at him as he reached up to pull out her bag, handing it to her as they remained stood in first class by themselves. "Are you okay? You seem very quiet."

"I'm fine," she informed him with a forced smile. Robert knew better than to believe that. I'm fine was the number one lie which came from her mouth. Normally it happened when he had done something wrong. "How are you?"

"Good," he smiled at her, placing his jacket onto his arms. "I had time to reflect, I think."

"On what?" Jennifer enquired from him and he looked hesitant for a moment. Did he really want to do this? He didn't know what he wanted to do.

"I had a dream," he informed her, placing the suspenders to his trousers back onto his shoulders as Jennifer moved into her bag and checked that everything was still there before Robert held his hand out to her and she took it. "My father wasn't disappointed with me. He was disappointed because I was trying to be like him. It all made sense."

"I told you that your father would never be disappointed with you," Jenny informed him and he shrugged nonchalantly as they stepped through the walkway of the plane after the stewardess told them to have a good visit. Robert ignored her and Jenny managed a smile, picking up some of her fiancé's lack of manners.

"Yes...well...and that's why I'm going to do this," Robert said; his voice stubborn and full of authority as Jennifer remained pensive. How had they convinced him? She didn't think it would be possible. "I'm going to split up my father's empire. I'm going to make something for myself."

"You're going to split up his company?" Jennifer checked with Robert as they joined the queue for immigration checks and she pulled out the paper which she had to fill out whilst Robert nodded at her and she shook her head. She was slowly piecing together what had happened. How did Robert not know? How did she know and he didn't? None of it made any sense to her. "And you've decided to do this based on a dream which you just had?"

"It was...it didn't feel like a dream..." Robert admitted with a small whisper to his voice and Jennifer looked at him with wide eyes as he smiled lightly, looking at the queue ahead of him as he did so. "I have to do this, Jenny. Believe me. I won't go bankrupt."

"I don't care about your money, Robert!" Jennifer hissed at him, attracting stares from other people in the line as she did so and Fischer gently wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him so that people wouldn't think anything was wrong. "The money doesn't matter to me. What matters is this hasty decision. Surely you need to think it over with your godfather?"

"No," Robert said, the adamant tone in his voice as he did so. "I don't need to talk with Uncle Peter. He'll support me. I'll make something of myself. I know that it seems hasty and rushed, but, trust me, Jenny. I'll be fine. We'll be fine."

Jennifer bit down on her bottom lip and looked straight ahead of her as she finally went over to hand in her paper and she thought about what she had just heard. She didn't care if Robert wanted to split up his empire. She didn't care if he lost a lot of money and did it. What she did care about was the fact that it wasn't his idea. He had been persuaded to do it. That was the part which got to Jenny. Robert was about to make an action based on some lie and Jennifer wasn't going to allow it.

But, he had reconciled with his father. He'd finally made peace with the man. She didn't know if she could undo that. Her mind was spinning with endless possibilities as the man handed her the paper back.

"Welcome to LA, Miss Reynolds," he greeted and she smiled back to him before meeting Robert near the baggage reclaim area. He had his phone in his hands, playing on it as she stood beside him.

"How are you going to see my case come around when you're playing on your phone?" she enquired and he pursed his lips, dropping it into his pocket before focusing on the task at hand.

"Are you sure that you're all right?" Robert asked again, his voice sounding concerned as Jennifer saw her black suitcase make its way over to them. Robert took a swift glance to the side, his eyes catching onto a familiar man as he did so. He said nothing to him, instead he just walked straight past and to the exit as Robert turned back to the carousel.

"I'm fine, Robert. I'm just cranky and tired," she lied, stepping forward as her case neared.

"I'll get it," he spoke up, buttoning up the button to his jacket as he moved forwards and quickly grabbed onto her case, standing it upright before he began to wheel it away from the other people scrambling for their bags. "We'll go back to my apartment and you can have a sleep whilst I sort some business out. I thought that I could take you out tonight? Show you a little bit of LA."

"That'd be great," Jennifer said, making the enthusiasm rise in her voice as she pecked her fiancé's cheek and he pushed her hair behind her ear as she clocked a familiar man move down a small corridor. "I'm just going to use the bathroom for a moment."

"I'll wait out here and find the driver," Robert said, taking her case from her whilst Jennifer made her move down the small corridor to the toilets. She stood opposite the entrance to the male's toilets, her arms folded and her eyes glaring at the door as she watched people walk in and out, questioning glances thrown her way as they did so.

"What did you do?" Jennifer snapped as soon as the man exited, his hands pushing his hair behind his ears as he looked at her with puzzlement.

"Do I know you, darling?" he wondered and Jennifer rolled her eyes as he moved closer to her, deeper down the corridor to where it was quiet.

"Don't play games with me," she demanded from him. "I know about the dream, okay? I know what happened."

"You must have the wrong man," he said and turned on his heel to walk away. Jennifer lunged forwards, grabbing onto his elbow as he turned back to look at her reddening face and she shook her head.

"I don't think so, Eames, isn't it?" she checked with him and he sighed once, knowing that the game was well and truly up. "Robert doesn't know what you did. I don't know why, but, I do. And I want an explanation."

"Do you now?" Eames said, his voice bland as Jennifer nodded, dropping her hold from his elbow as she did so.

"Yes," she replied. "I don't have time now. But, later, I will."

"And what makes you think that I'm going to tell you anything?" Eames replied. "I'm sorry, love, but it is over now."

"Not if I tell Robert," she threatened him and a flicker of worry passed his eyes as he did so.

"Why don't you just tell him anyway?" Eames played her at her own game and calling her bluff. "Seeing as how you're madly in love with him then you shouldn't keep secrets."

"I need to know the truth," she replied. "You're going to tell me."

"Fine," Eames simply agreed with her. It couldn't hurt to tell her seeing as how she knew too much. "I'll be seeing you later."

"We haven't discussed when and where."

"Details," Eames called out to her in a bored voice, picking his case back up from the floor. "I give you my word though, darling. I will show up later."

And for some strange reason Jennifer didn't question him or his word.

...

A/N: Thank you to Lovely Rain Dancer, reverie-scriptor and NeedNotNoName for reviewing the previous chapter! Let me know what you all think so far!


	14. Chapter 14

Jennifer always knew that being engaged to Robert was something which came with a lot of publicity and press. She just hadn't expected it when she flew with him to LA. She often wondered how people caught word of him moving and how they managed to track down his location all the time. Robert hated it. Jenny knew that much.

"They're like moths attracted to light," Robert complained like a sulking child as his car neared his apartment block and Jennifer looked across the seat to him before grabbing onto his hand. She smiled across and he kissed her knuckle, slowly dragging her closer to him as he did so.

"I'm sorry about this," he apologised to her and she blinked profusely as the car finally stopped. She arched a brow in his direction, waiting for his explanation as to what he was apologising for as he swung the door open quickly. "The press," he said simply. "I know it isn't something you signed up for when you-"

"-You outweigh the annoyance of cameras," she promised him as he opened the door. "Trust me, Robert."

The pair of them quickly moved through the crowds of people, Robert kept his arm around Jennifer as questions continued to be thrown at him. It took him every single ounce of self control which he had not to yell back at them. Why did they need to ask such personal questions? It was no one's business whether he and his father had finally reconciled whilst Maurice was on his death bed. Nor was it their business to ask about the prenuptial which Jennifer was about to sign.

It was completely preposterous and it made Robert wish that he could live on some deserted island somewhere.

"Robert," Jennifer whispered his name as soon as they entered the building and he looked down at her. "Your death grip is kind of killing my waist." She informed him and he looked down to her where he was holding her, his knuckles turning white due to the hold he had.

"Sorry," he said and instantly let go, pushing his hand through his hair before looking around the lobby as his driver finally managed to bring Jennifer's case in.

"I can take it up, Harrison," he assured the driver. "You go and take the rest of the day off."

"Are you sure, Mr Fischer?" the driver checked and Robert nodded, taking the handle of the case from him as he looked back through the spinning doors and onto the flashing lights from the paparazzi.

"Positive," he promised him. "My godfather shall be arriving on a late flight tonight. Would it be possible for you to pick him up?"

"Of course, Mr Fischer," Harrison said and Robert turned around quickly, dragging Jenny's case towards the desk at reception as the driver became dismissed. Jenny followed him, looking around at the marbled floors and the white washed walls with the extreme art pictures behind them. It really was a different type of world which Robert lived in.

"Mr Fischer, welcome back to Byron Towers." The receptionist behind the desk spoke and Jennifer had to control her jaw. They had a receptionist. She'd never seen anything like it. "What is it that you'd be requiring this evening?"

Jennifer watched how the receptionist fluttered her eyelids in Robert's direction and she looked up to her fiancé who remained emotionless towards her obvious flirting.

"Just my apartment key today," he simply spoke and the skinny blonde moved from her seat to the back room before returning with a silver key and handing it to Robert.

"Have a pleasant stay, Mr Fischer," she called out to him and Robert nodded, dragging Jenny's case to the elevator as she walked a few paces behind, still looking around in awe at what she was seeing. Robert took a moment to glance across to her as he waited for the elevator and he smirked at her expression.

"There's a pool and gym in the basement," he spoke gently, "along with a helicopter landing pad on the roof."

"You're kidding," Jenny spat out and he shook his head. "There's also a really fit receptionist who bats her eyelashes at women's fiancé's. Did you know that, too?"

Robert smirked for a moment, a rare sight when he realised that a woman had gotten jealous over him. It wasn't something which had happened to him in his entire life. To see her become so protective felt nice.

"I did notice," Robert replied with a nod, stepping into the elevator and Jennifer followed him. "I just prefer not to pay attention. God only knows that if I did then you'd have a field day."

"Too right," Jennifer confirmed.

Once they reached the apartment Robert unlocked it quickly, dragging her case inside as he felt his phone begin to vibrate against the shirt in his pocket.

"I need to take this," he simply said. "Take a look around and see what you think."

Jennifer pushed her case by the side of the door, taking a second to glance around at the open spaced apartment as she did so. The walls were covered in full length glass windows which showed off the view of LA's setting sun. The furnishings were modern and stylish and looked like they were rarely used. The kitchen was brand new and Jennifer wondered if Robert had ever cooked in it. Everything about the apartment was stylish and modern. Jenny just couldn't help but feel that it didn't look like a home.

"That was the lawyer for my father's company...well...my company..." Robert informed her in a soft voice and she folded her arms, kicking off her heels by her case and moving around the kitchen as he rested against the worktop.

"What did he want?" Jennifer wondered, opening the fridge to nothing.

"I've told him that there was no need for a prenuptial to be drawn up," Robert assured her and she looked at him with scepticism. "And before you say anything, it doesn't matter. I never wanted you to sign one anyway."

"You know that it didn't bother me," she pursed her lips and he shrugged nonchalantly.

"It bothered me."

...

Robert informed Jennifer that he had managed to book reservations at a newly opened restaurant that evening and she had almost had a fit when she realised everything in her case had become creased. She quickly set about looking for an iron whilst Robert watched in vague amusement as she gave the garments a quick press and he stood in his suit, deducing he didn't need to change.

But, their dinner was cut short when Robert's BlackBerry went off like it always did. Jennifer knew he was a busy man and he would be even busier now that his father had gone. She just wished that he would take a moment to himself sometimes.

"I'm really sorry," he apologised for the fifth time as they left the restaurant. They hadn't even eaten.

"So you've said, Robert," Jennifer spoke in a bored tone and he looked down at her. He knew that expression anywhere. She wore it when he normally bailed on her, which was quite often.

"I'll get you a cab home and then I will meet you at the apartment later on tonight," Robert promised, his hands resting on her shoulders as they stood in the dark night of LA and his blue eyes looked down into hers before his hand moved under her chin, a soft finger making her look at him. "I'm sorry, Jenny."

"I know," she said, forcing herself to smile as he kissed her quickly and then hailed a cab. He opened the back door for her, giving her another quick kiss before handing her a fifty dollar bill.

"I have money," she informed him and he tried not to roll his eyes as he opened the door to the cab driver and dropped the fifty into his lap.

"Make sure that she doesn't pay," he said to him and he saluted once as Jennifer glared at her smirking fiancé.

"I've told you," he mumbled, "I'll take care of you."

"Thank you," Jennifer managed to spit it out and he shrugged.

"We're engaged, Jennifer," he replied. "You don't need to thank me."

She kissed him again before jumping into the backseat, allowing the cabbie to pull off as she sighed to herself and Robert slammed the door shut.

"Where to, darling?" he enquired and Jennifer's eyes shot up from her lap, looking into the rear view mirror where his eyes connected with hers and she could tell that he was grinning.

"Do you know any good fast food places?" Jennifer wondered as he looked forward for a moment, giving out a hearty laugh as he did so.

"A woman after my own heart," he declared. "I told you that I'd get a chance to talk to you."

"So you did," Jennifer replied. "Wait...how did you know I'd be getting a cab home...and alone?"

"I set up a little call to Fischer," he admitted. "Separating you two seems to be hard."

"So, there's no emergency at the office?"

"None at all. You said that you wanted an explanation so here I am," he said. "But, I think a burger is a good idea to discuss this over, love."

...

A/N: Thank you to NeedNotNoName and Lovely Rain Dancer for reviewing the previous chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

"You seem less angry than I had expected," Eames observed as he sat behind the wheel of the taxi, lounging in his seat as he popped another French fry into his mouth and looked across the bench to where Jennifer sat, her legs folded beneath her as she devoured the food which she had just bought. She shrugged gently, managing to fit her mouth around the burger as she looked over to Eames.

"Will being angry at you help?" she enquired and he chuckled, looking straight out of his window and onto the brick wall which he had parked in front of before he shook his head to confirm her beliefs.

"What do you want to know?" he wondered.

"Everything," she spoke. "How did you persuade him to break up the company?"

"Inception," Eames muttered, the word, observing the fry which he now held. "It is the idea of planting an idea into someone's mind. It's complex, but, doable."

"So it seems," Jennifer replied to him, waiting for him to continue on with his explanation of Inception.

"We need to convince your fiancé to split up his father's empire because Cobb was in trouble. If he didn't do this then he would never get back to America to see his family. There was a price on his head. It was believed that he killed his own wife," Eames said and Jennifer's mouth fell open slightly at hearing that. She remembered Cobb vaguely. They'd had a conversation in the warehouse and he had told her about his wife.

"It's not true," Eames clarified and Jennifer's jaw shut once again as she slurped on her cola. "She killed herself. She said that she was living a dream. She became lost and had no other option, hence, why they were looking for Cobb. He was a man on the run."

"And what changed that?" Jennifer wondered and Eames looked back across to her. Did she need the whole truth? There was a part of him which told him to stop. He shouldn't be jeopardising everything which they worked for so that she could know. But, he didn't think it was fair. She had the right to know and understand what they did to her fiancé.

"A man named Saito," Eames replied and Jenny took a second to think of where she had heard that name before. Her eyes went wide as it came back to her and Eames nodded once. "Yes, he's the one who ended up shot. Anyway, he wanted to stop your fiancé from becoming the largest superpower of energy in the world. He said that it wouldn't be good for anyone."

"So he made you do this?" Jennifer snapped and Eames took a moment to deliberate.

"He gave Cobb the choice," Eames said carefully. "He said that if he did it then he would allow Cobb access back to America and back to his children. What do you think he was going to do?"

Jennifer pursed her lips, looking out of her side window whilst Eames studied, looking for any hint of emotion as she sighed once, her shoulder slumping downwards as he continued softly.

"They're his children, darling," he whispered. "If he had any other choice then he wouldn't have done this. He would have left Fischer alone. He was desperate."

"Did he get back to them?" Jennifer asked, her question taking Eames off guard as he stared into her eyes which showed some form of concern and he moved his head up and down a couple of times at her.

"He's back with them now," he clarified. "We've all gone our separate ways."

"And now Robert is living a lie," Jennifer concluded, eating another fry and Eames bit down on his tongue, thinking about something to say in response to that instead of blurting out the obvious. He was rich. He had made up with his father. He'd make something of himself and he had a doting fiancée. What more could the man want?

"You may see it like that," Eames indulged her. "We forced something upon him, but, he now believes his relationship with his father has been reconciled. Isn't that what he wanted? Isn't that what makes him happy?"

"I know," Jennifer mumbled. "Maurice was never likable and Robert always wanted to please him. He never could...and...well...in reality he hasn't."

"But, he thinks he has," Eames said, picking his burger up. "As long as he thinks it then he is happy. Isn't that what you want for him?"

"Don't twist this around," Jennifer groaned; her voice soft and downtrodden whilst Eames shrugged roughly in her direction.

"And yes, the idea to split up his father's company may not have been his initial plan. He may not have done it," Eames said whilst Jennifer continued to stare down at the chips resting in the cardboard box in her hands. "But, he can make something of his life. He doesn't have to follow in his father's footsteps like he thought."

"But I'm going to have to lie to him," Jennifer whispered. "I'm going to have to wake up next to him each morning and pretend that nothing has ever happened. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"Like a cheat?" Eames wondered and she snorted once, shaking her head as she did so, a small tear escaping her eye as she did so.

"I feel like...I know that he will be happy and that's all I want for him. I just don't want to lie to him."

"Sometimes," Eames mumbled, "we do these things for the people we love. We do it to protect them."

"And what happens if I tell him?" Jennifer wondered.

"Well," Eames coughed to clear his throat, "there's a chance that he may remember or he may think that you're mad. If he remembers then he may go through with the breaking up of the company or he may not. If he doesn't...well...Cobb's future is in your hands for that one."

"This is so messed up," Jennifer complained and Eames shook his head to disagree with her.

"I don't think it is, love," he assured her. "You and Robert can live happily. He's not going to do anything brash, is he?"

"Well...no..." Jennifer admitted and Eames flashed a large smile in her direction, rubbing his hands together as he did so and looked back onto his burger.

"There you have it!" he declared joyfully. "You're protecting him and making him happy. I class that as the definition of a healthy relationship."

"Hm," Jennifer muttered, realising that she needed to think about it some more as she picked up a fry and Eames grinned.

"So, your fiancé takes you to a swanky restaurant and you come out and have fast food?" he clarified and she grinned back at him gently whilst eating her burger.

"You interrupted before we had the chance to order," she informed him and he snorted and shrugged.

"I may have just saved you," he declared. "The portions in there are designed for skinny models. I'm sure of it."

"Possibly," Jennifer admitted.

"Besides, if I was him then I'd never have left a fiancée as good looking as you for some business call," Eames spoke, the suaveness oozing out of his voice whilst Jennifer rolled her eyes and shook her head, giving him a sceptical look as she did so and he raised his hands in front of him in surrender.

"What?" he wondered. "Fischer is a lucky man."

"And if he knew what you'd just said then he'd be less than impressed."

"Luckily I don't need to impress him, darling," Eames replied.

"I can imagine you're quite the hit with the ladies."

"I don't like to boast."

"Of course not. Look, Eames, I've been thinking."

"Have you?" Eames replied. "It's perfectly normal."

"Shut up," Jenny said, trying to be serious but failing not to smile at his small comments. "I need you to do me a favour."

"What would that be? I already paid for your dinner."

"With Robert's fifty," Jenny said and shook her head. "Not the point...look...I need...you go into the dream world quite often, don't you?"

"I suppose so. Why?"

"Because I want to go under."


	16. Chapter 16

Eames sat still for a moment, taking in what she had just asked of him as he ate the remained of his burger, thinking about her request as he felt her eyes glare onto the side of his head. Slowly, he picked up his napkin, dabbing it against his cheek and then onto his mouth before looking over to her.

"What do you want to go under for?" he asked her gently and she took a moment to close her eyes, inhaling sharply as Eames studied her, having his own ideas as to what she wanted from him. "You need to tell me, darling."

"My sister," Jennifer clarified for him. Well, that was one of his guesses. He undid another button to his high collared shirt before he looked back at Jenny who was pushing her hand through her black curls, wondering how to explain it to him. "Going back into the dream world and remembering that I almost lost Robert...well...it made me remember that I never really had the chance to be with my sister...or say anything to her."

"You were six, weren't you?" he clarified with her and she nodded once to confirm. "Jennifer. You said it yourself that your sister died. What makes you think that she is trapped in a dream?"

"I don't know," Jennifer admitted to him. "I just think that she could be a projection, couldn't she be? Like Cobb's wife?"

"Jennifer," Eames sighed her name, shaking his head as he did so. She should never compare herself with Cobb and Mal. They were a one of a kind couple and not necessarily in a good way. He didn't know how to explain to her that she could become too attached. If she became too close to her sister whilst dreaming then she could be lost to the dream world. Eames would not be responsible for that.

"I never got the chance to say goodbye to Amanda," Jennifer spoke out quickly. "Even if she can only exist in my memory then I could do that. Please, Eames."

"What has brought this on?" he asked her quickly, shrugging his shoulders hastily as he did so at her and Jennifer watched as he laughed once in disbelief, his forehead banging against the steering wheel as he did so. He couldn't believe that this was happening to him. "Why are you asking me this out of the blue?"

"I've thought about it for years," Jennifer admitted. "I just never knew how to dream like you do. And then being in a dream with Robert...almost losing him...it reminded him of Amanda. It reminded me that I never got the chance to say goodbye to her. I was six and she was so much older than me."

"I don't know," Eames said to her, still hesitant to go through with her request. He didn't owe her anything.

"Eames," she pleaded with him and he groaned as he heard her say his name in that pleading way. "You're the first person who I've been able to talk to about this. My parents refused to believe that any of it was true and I can't tell Robert."

"Why not?" Eames suddenly asked and Jennifer blinked profusely in his direction whilst he raised his hands by his side. "I mean, he is your fiancé. He would surely understand, wouldn't he?"

"I don't know," Jennifer admitted. "I've just never felt comfortable telling him. It seems I'm quite the expert at keeping secrets from him, doesn't it?"

Eames looked at her as she looked deflated and he wished he hadn't even brought Fischer into the equation. He seemed to do more damage than he was anything else to her.

"If I do this then I need you to promise me that you won't get lost in the dream, darling," Eames quickly said to her and she nodded hastily, agreeing to any terms and conditions which he could throw in her direction.

"I promise," she agreed. "I just want to see her."

"It could be dangerous and I would be going under with you," Eames continued to clarify for her. "I'll sort it out for one day soon, love."

"When?"

"As I said, one day soon," Eames repeated and Jenny pursed her lips, managing a small smirk in his direction as she did so.

"If you said no then I intended to blackmail you," she whispered, quite ashamed with her behaviour as Eames looked at her with a gleam in his eyes, impressed with her nerve as she looked shyly over at him.

"What with?"

"Inception on Robert," she murmured. "I'd hoped that it wouldn't come to that."

"Your demands know no limits, do they, darling?"

...

"Jenny," Robert sighed as soon as he entered the apartment. His fiancée had changed into her pyjamas and was curled up on the leather sofa which he owned, her hand holding onto the remote tightly. She yawned once, looking at the door which Robert had slammed shut before he fell down onto the sofa beside her, pulling his tie down his shirt. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay," she confirmed. She'd only just gotten in herself. "What happened at the office?"

She knew it was nothing. Eames had told her as much. Robert rolled his eyes and shook his head at her as he did so.

"Complete chaos," he informed her and her eyes went wide. What was he talking about? Eames had sent him out on a false alarm. "Some intern had managed to mess up the stock and shares."

"Oh," Jenny replied in a slight whisper. "I see."

"I know," Robert agreed with a roll of his eyes before he looked at the TV. "When I first got there it was nothing. I don't know why I was called in. It was whilst I was leaving when I found out about it."

Jenny smiled in disbelief, shaking her head before resting her head against his shoulder and moving closer to him. Why would he lie to her? Why did she even have any doubt in her mind? And what would he lie to her about? Nothing. It was her who was lying to him.

...

A/N: Thank you to Lovely Rain Dancer and NewSlove for reviewing!

Please let me know what you all think!


	17. Chapter 17

"Come here," Jenny whispered as she watched Robert stand in front of his mirror, his hands shaking whilst moving to his chest where his limp tie sat against the pinstriped shirt which he wore. He'd donned black suspenders for the morning and his tie was a simple black. He had to admit that he didn't own many black ties. He only had one for sombre occasions. He didn't like the colour.

"Thanks," Robert mumbled, allowing her to move her hands and tie the material up, pulling the knot up to his chin where he did his top button up and adjusted his collar. "I can't believe how nervous I am."

"It's natural," Jenny promised him, running a hand up his arm before she dashed around the bedroom, trying to find the other black heel to her outfit. She was sure she had packed it. She would hardly go around and wear just one shoe. How daft that would have been. She finally found it lurking under her blouses as she pulled it out and slipped it onto her left foot, her eyes looking back at Robert who was stood staring into his mirror. His hands were frantically running through his neatly combed dark hair, trying to mess it up but failing terribly.

"It's going to be fine, Robert," Jennifer spoke encouragingly, walking back over to her fiancé and wrapping her arms around his waist, her head resting against his back as he chuckled darkly and shook his head.

"None of this is going to be okay," he complained to her. "I don't know what to do, Jennifer. I won't know anyone who is going today...and they will all be there...congratulating me on the takeover of the company...and then I'm going to split it up. They'll all think that I'm going against my father."

"They can think what they want, Robert," Jennifer said forcefully to him, turning around and looking him in the eye. "It is your decision. I'll be there for you the entire way, okay? It'll be over before you know it."

"I know," Robert murmured, taking a deep breath and then offering Jenny his arm as he moved out from the bedroom with her and into the large open spaced living area. Browning was seated on the sofa, his legs crossed and his hands laced together as he watched the young couple move out.

"Robert," Browning sighed his name softly. "You're looking very handsome. Your father would have been very proud."

"Yes," Robert said, his voice stiff as he did so and Jenny took his hand, squeezing it tightly as Browning took in the simple black dress which she wore and he looked her in the eye.

"You're looking as lovely as ever, Miss Reynolds," he spoke formally and Jenny nodded once to acknowledge his words. "We should be going. The service commences at ten and it is nine fifteen. There will be a sit down meal afterwards, Robert. All of your father's board is going to be there. Miss Reynolds can come along too, if she likes."

"She will be," Robert said quickly before Jenny had the chance to say anything to Browning. "She's my fiancée, Uncle Peter."

"I am aware, Robert," Browning said, not wanting to argue with his stubborn godson on the day that they were supposed to show their respects to his deceased father. He didn't get along well with Jennifer. Robert knew that as did Jenny. She thought he was an interfering man who simply put up with Robert's stubborn ways because he wanted to be in charge of the empire. She never really knew what to think about him. But, Robert insisted that he was a good man and influential during his childhood and Jennifer respected that. Browning never had respected Jenny. He saw her as some accountant who had seen the lifestyle which Robert lived and she wanted it for her own. He'd regarded every woman who looked at Robert the same.

"As you said," Robert drawled out, "we'd best be going."

...

The funeral was a large affair, everyone singing hymns and everyone partaking in shedding a tear or two. Jenny made sure she never left Robert's side, knowing how he much he hated everyone condoling him on his loss. Her hand rested in his throughout the ceremony and then throughout the burial in the private graveyard which Maurice had requested. Jennifer and Robert stayed until the end, watching as his coffin was covered in dirt. Jenny studied Robert's face as they stood beneath a tree, Robert staring at the flowers being placed on top of the dirt.

"Hey," Jenny whispered when his eyes averted to the sky. She drew his attention back down to her with a small squeeze on his hand and he smiled sadly before kissing her on the top of her head.

"I just hope that he will be proud one day," Robert mumbled before the pair of them made their way back to the car for the dinner which was to be served.

...

"To Robert Fischer," Browning spoke clearly, standing up and raising his champagne flute in Robert's direction. He simply remained sat at the head of the table, his own glass held in his hand whilst he watched his godfather make a toast. "The new head of the Fischer Empire. Here is to your success, son."

Everyone raised their own glass in the air apart from Robert who looked down the table, passing everyone's glances before he looked at Jenny sip on her drink.

"May he be just as successful as his father."

Jenny took in those words before allowing a small smirk onto her lips. She quickly pushed it back, realising it wasn't the time for smiles or congratulations. She knew that Robert was going to make something of himself. She was sure of that much. She just didn't know if it was really his own choice.

"And you must be Robert's fiancée?" the question was asked as men milled around the room, slapping each other's backs and remembering Maurice whilst Jennifer remained seated. Robert had done the same but Browning had eventually dragged him away, telling him that he needed to meet some people. Robert had looked pleadingly at Jenny whilst Browning assured him that his fiancée would be safe by herself.

"Yes, Jennifer Reynolds," Jenny smiled as the man sat down on the vacant seat next to her at the large oak table, his hand extending as she shook it.

"Bob Morris. I work on the legal team," he assured her and Jennifer nodded once. She'd heard his name tossed around quite a bit. "I realise that this may be a hard time for you and Mr Fischer, Miss Reynolds."

"Well," Jennifer shrugged gently, "Robert's getting through it. He's coping."

"He's a strong man. He takes after his father."

"God, I hope not," Jenny mumbled so that he couldn't hear her whilst she placed her flute to her mouth and Bob placed his sweaty hand on the top of his head, itching at his greying hair as he did so.

"Well, Mr Browning wondered if it would be possible for me to have a word with you." Bob admitted and Jenny arched a brow, suddenly intrigued as to what she was hearing. The man nodded quickly at her before glancing over to where Robert stood with some other men, shaking their hands and making polite conversation.

"What about?" Jennifer wondered.

"I am sure that you're aware how hard this must be, but, with the loss of Maurice...well...Mr Browning just wants to make sure that his godson is protected. You understand, don't you, Miss Reynolds?"

"I understand where this is going if Browning sent you," Jennifer agreed, her voice slightly snide as she downed the rest of her champagne. "Could he not just wait until after today?"

"It is done to protect the family business, Miss Reynolds. Your interests shall be considered in the prenuptial agreement also. Don't worry about that."

"My interests?" Jennifer checked. "I don't have anything to give to Robert moneywise."

"Then you see that he would have a lot to lose if divorce was to occur."

"Do you think that I'd even want his money?"

"I know many couples who think like you do now and then change their minds a few years down the line. We all just want the best for Robert. Not all marriages are perfect, Miss Reynolds." Bob spoke condescendingly to Jennifer and she glared over at him, her head shaking back and forth as she did so. "Robert is naive. He isn't looking out for himself. This isn't about money, Miss. It is about making sure that he is safe in the future."

"Tell Browning that I will sign his stupid piece of paper," Jennifer snapped at Bob, pulling her napkin off from her lap and throwing it onto the table. "But, I will do it tomorrow. There needs to be some respect for the day."

"Is everything okay?" Robert's voice suddenly checked, his arm wrapping around Jenny's waist before he looked down onto Bob and then up to his fiancée.

"Fine," Bob agreed.

"Ah, Bob, the matter which we discussed earlier; have you taken care of it?" Browning's voice suddenly boomed into the conversation and Bob looked hesitantly at the couple and then back to Browning whilst Robert's brows furrowed together.

"What matter would this be?" he enquired as Bob reddened and Browning began to speak, but, Jenny beat him to it.

"Your godfather sent him here to get me to agree to a prenuptial," Jennifer was the one to blurt out suddenly and Robert looked at Browning who glared at Jenny. "I don't see what the big deal is. I said that I would sign it if it meant that much to him. I just wanted him to wait until after today."

"Uncle Peter," Robert complained. "I've already told you that I don't want Jennifer to sign it."

"We need to discuss this."

"No," Robert said quickly. "There is nothing to discuss."

"It is what your father wanted, Robert."

Jennifer blinked rapidly at hearing that whilst Robert shook his head, his eyes looking downwards as a smile of disbelief played on his face.

"My father wanted me to do a great many things," he declared. "I don't intend to do this one."

...

Jenny climbed from the shower in the en-suite bathroom, wrapping a towel around her body and allowing her hair to drip onto her shoulders as she listened to the noise which was coming from the living room. She shook her head, informing herself it had to be Robert. He must have forgotten something and come back to the apartment. She slowly moved from the bathroom and into the living room, looking as the TV blared out the opening music to 'Australia's Next Top Model.'

"This week's episode looks brilliant, darling, I can see why you've recorded it," his voice drawled out as he stood up from the sofa, his hands on his hips and his head motioning to the TV whilst Jennifer pulled the towel tighter around her body.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jennifer demanded from him. One week had passed since she had seen him and now here he was, standing in Robert's apartment and discussing models with her.

"You asked me for a favour," he reminded her.

"A week ago! You could have called ahead!"

"Where is the fun in that?" he enquired.

"Turn around," Jennifer demanded from him and he arched a brow. "Eames, turn the-"

"Okay," Eames quickly spoke, sensing her anger with him as he looked onto the white washed wall and Jennifer moved around the room, turning the TV off as she did so.

"You can't just break into Robert's apartment like this and expect me to be fine about it," Jennifer hissed at him and he rolled his eyes, unable to contain the grin on his face. "What would happen if Robert walked back in?"

"Well, the towel around your body and my naturally handsome, yet dishevelled looks, would suggest that we've been having a very lurid affair," Eames said blandly as Jenny picked up a cushion and threw it at his head.

"What was that for?" he asked, turning back to look at her which earned him a glare. She clicked her fingers, pointing back in the direction he had been facing. He sighed once but did as commanded. "And I knew that he wouldn't be back for a while. I looked into his diary to pick the best time to visit you."

"You could have called," Jennifer complained back to him and he chuckled gently.

"That's a rather fetching towel, by the way," he taunted her and she ground her teeth together at hearing him. "You shouldn't walk around like that, you know. Some men can't handle it."

"Shut up, Eames," Jennifer complained. "I'm still annoyed with you."

"Obviously," Eames called back out to her.

"I'm going to change...you...well...sit down and watch the models prancing on TV."

"Now there is a command which I will obey, darling," Eames said, flopping back onto the sofa and looking at the TV, making sure he snuck a quick glance at Jennifer's behind as she moved back into the bedroom.

...

A/N: Thank you to reverie-scriptor, NeedNotNoName, Lovely Rain Dancer and New Slove for reviewing.

Let me know what you think so far! More to come later on!


	18. Chapter 18

"I have to say that the towel was much more preferable," Eames declared as soon as he saw Jennifer re-enter the living room. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bobble and her body was covered in a simple plum coloured dress due to the heat of LA getting to her whenever she attempted to wear jeans on her legs. She glared at Eames as he switched the TV off and he continued to grin.

"Unfortunately for you it wasn't appropriate," Jennifer responded. "Besides, I'm sure you've had your chance to see many women in towels before."

"You're not telling a lie there," Eames joked back with her, standing up and clapping once, rubbing his hands together as he did so. "I have the equipment all set up, so, if you'd like to take a seat?"

Jenny nodded, sitting down on the sofa whilst Eames bent down in front of her, his hands holding onto her and attaching the cord whilst she winced once at the contact and he looked up at her, seeing that her eyes held some kind of worry yet determination.

"We don't have to do this," he promised her and she shook her head quickly at him.

"I do," she replied and he sighed but nodded, finishing off with her cord. He placed the silver case onto the table, making sure it was firmly secure where it was as he worked with his own cord, his commands still coming out thick and fast.

"We have one hour down there and then the automatic kick will be induced. If a kick happens before then don't worry. You'll wake up and be fine. You're to stay by my side at all times, okay?"

"I get it," Jennifer promised him, leaning back against the sofa as Eames took a seat on the spare chair next to her sofa.

"One more thing," Eames pointed out and she arched a brow as his hand hovered over the yellow button in the centre of the case. "Don't forget what is real and what isn't."

...

"Jenny!" Eames called her name out as he stood on the sidewalk, his eyes darting around and searching for the black haired woman whom he had lost. He'd been asleep for less than one minute and already she had gone. He muttered under his breath, pushing a hand through his hair before he began to stalk off, searching for her through the multiple projections which were in place.

"Eames," her voice suddenly breathed and he felt her small hand grab onto his large one as he sighed with relief, turning around to see her stood before him. "I was the other way from you when you decided to go and run off."

"Just...well...do you have any idea where we need to be going?" Eames wondered from her, taking in the location whilst Jennifer smiled once and nodded at him, looking around with wonder as she did so.

"It's Greenwich," Jennifer informed him. "It's where I grew up with my parents just outside of Sydney."

"And do you have any idea where she'll be?" Eames asked and Jenny shrugged at him.

"I have a vague idea." She whispered. "If this is my dream then she should be where I think she will be, shouldn't she?"

"Possible," Eames decided after a moment of hesitation. He had to admit that her subconscious was behaving rather well. No one seemed to be giving them any grief about what was happening and they all seemed to be going about their day to day life. Eames remained close to Jennifer as she led him through the crowds, always tossing her head back to make sure he was with her as he looked around at the large buildings and the different places.

"A playground?" Eames checked with Jennifer as soon as she stopped outside of the small gates, looking into where children rushed around and played, singing happily about nothing to themselves whilst parents looked on in marvel.

"Amanda used to bring me here every night after school when she picked me up," Jennifer whispered over to Eames as she continued to scan the people in the playground. Finally, her eyes latched onto a tall dark haired girl as she sat on the roundabout by herself, refusing to push it as others remained away from her. It looked as if she was invisible. She wasn't, but, she was too old to be playing on mediocre playground toys.

"She looks a lot like you," Eames commented, his head motioning to the woman sat at the roundabout. "Go and talk to her. I'll wait here."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Eames spoke, watching as Jennifer pushed the gate open and he stood on the quiet sidewalk which led onto the park. He watched her hesitantly walk over to the yellow circle the woman was sat on and wondered if there would be any chance that he had to intervene in anything which was happening.

Jennifer stopped at the side of the roundabout, her eyes locking with the same green ones which were sat on the red seat.

"Jenny?" Amanda's voice wondered and Jennifer nodded as her elder sister chuckled in disbelief, motioning to the seat which was opposite her. Jenny sat down, crossing her legs and still looking at the woman that was her sister. She hadn't aged one bit. "You've decided to join me."

"Amanda," Jenny whispered her name. "I had to see you."

"You've grown up," Amanda commented, eyeing her younger sister up and down, stopping to note the rock which sat on her finger. "You're engaged."

"Yes," Jenny replied, looking at the stone and nodding in agreement. "I am engaged."

"Is he as good as my Dan?" Amanda wondered and Jenny sighed, hearing about her old boyfriend. "He'll be here soon, maybe. You two can meet."

"Maybe," Jennifer simply spoke. "Amanda...I just needed to see you...I never got the chance to say goodbye..."

"What are you talking about, silly?" Amanda laughed once, shaking her head. Her flat black hair swayed over her shoulders as her pale face lit up with amusement. "I'm here! I'm here in reality. I don't know what you're talking about."

"This isn't reality, Amanda," Jennifer replied and her sister's face frowned at hearing that. "Amanda, this is a dream. You're a part of my subconscious."

"I don't think so," Amanda shook her head. "Jenny, this is real. This is the real life, sweetie. You've come to join me. I knew you would. We had a much stronger bond then mum and dad gave us credit for."

"Amanda," Jenny mumbled her name again. "I can't stay for long."

"Of course you can," Amanda replied. "This is your dream."

...

Eames kicked a stone onto the road aimlessly, his hands delving into his pockets before he looked back at the playground where the two girls sat. He watched on for a second, noting how Jennifer's face looked more concerned and annoyed as her sister snapped back at her, shaking her head and folding her arms defensively.

Eames gulped loudly, looking around the playground as the other people seemed to glance over in their direction, their minds noticing the abnormality of what was happening and picking out Jennifer during it all.

"You're in big trouble now, darling," Eames mumbled to himself, pushing the green gate open and making his way over to the two. But, he was almost too late. People began to swarm around the roundabout, their eyes fixed on Jennifer as she stood up, jumping off of it and onto the grass.

"Eames!" he heard her shout his name. "Eames!"

"Jenny...I'm coming, darling..." he called back, pushing through the people who had her in their sights until he eventually came to the gap.

"This is where you're supposed to be, Jennifer," Amanda spoke clearly whilst Jenny looked back at her sister and the projections closed in around her.

"No," Jenny responded. "It isn't. It isn't supposed to be like this."

"Jenny," Eames voice spoke and drew her attention back to him as his eyes looked into hers. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

She was about to question what he was talking about until she felt it. The large knife protruded her stomach before she stumbled forwards and Eames caught her in his hold before allowing himself to suffer the same fate.

...

Jenny felt the sweat beading down her forehead as her eyes opened wide and she looked around the living room, gasping quickly for breath as she did so. She looked across to the chair which Eames sat in as he pulled out a red poker chip and sighed once, settling back in his seat and pushing his hands over his cheeks whilst Jennifer leant forwards, pulling the wire from her wrist and feeling tears move down her cheeks.

"Hey," Eames whispered. He stood up and sat down besides her, his arm slowly moving around her shoulders as she shook her head. "You're awake. Everything is fine."

"I was so scared," Jenny admitted to him.

"I know. I know."

...

Later on in the evening Jennifer knew she had to recompose herself. Robert was due home any moment and she didn't want him to know of the eventful day which she had. She shook her head, telling herself that it wasn't on to lie to her fiancé yet trust a man who had deceived her. A knock on the door suddenly bolted her out of the daydream she was in as she moved around the kitchen and prepared dinner.

"What do you want?" Jennifer snapped as soon as she saw who it was at the door. He arched a brow in her direction, folding his hands together with his briefcase still held in it.

"The papers are in need of signing," he informed her and she rolled her eyes, moving away from the door and allowing him to enter the apartment. She moved back into the kitchen, finishing off dicing the pepper as he stood near the worktop. "I think it is best that Robert didn't know about this."

"Only because you know his thoughts on it," Jennifer replied quickly. "I don't care if I have to sign it. I don't want his money."

"Of course not," Browning said with disbelief on his voice. "Robert is too stubborn. If you sign them now then you'll be doing him a big favour in the future."

"Why?" Jennifer wondered; her shoulders shrugging manically as she did so. "Because it will save the cost of our divorce?"

"Exactly," Browning declared to her.

"You really are deceitful to him, aren't you?" Jennifer hissed out. How hypocritical of her. She knew it as soon as she said it. "I'm not signing until he's back and he knows about it."

"You're being unreasonable."

"And you're being an ass," Jennifer complained back to him as she looked up from her dicing to see Robert stood behind Browning next to the small dining table. Browning followed her gaze and nodded once, a small smirk on his face as he did so.

"Did you hear what she just called me?" Browning asked from his godson who nodded, dropping his briefcase down onto the table and walking into the kitchen, his arm wrapping around Jenny's waist as he kissed her on the cheek and she peeled an onion.

"I did," Robert declared. "And she was right."

"Robert!"

"No, Uncle Peter," Robert spoke quickly. "You have no right to come here and harass my fiancée like that. The prenuptial is between her and me and nothing to do with anyone else. Jennifer understands that."

"We all just want the best for you."

"And that is Jennifer. Believe me, the company doesn't need protecting."

Jennifer looked up at hearing him say that, her mouth slightly open as he nodded down to her.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm breaking up my father's empire," Robert declared with a breezy shrug. Jenny placed the onion down, her arms folding across her chest as Robert picked up a piece of tomato from the chopping board and placed it into his mouth. "There will still be some of the company left for you to manage, Uncle Peter. I just need to make something of myself and be my own man."

"Your father would be ashamed," Peter hissed and Jennifer stepped forwards, her chin jutting out in stubbornness as she did so.

"Don't you dare," she snapped at Browning. "You're the one who is bitter about this just because you wanted the company. Don't bring his father into the equation."

"She put you up to this, didn't she?" Browning snapped at Robert whilst Jenny scoffed. Robert rolled his eyes at his godfather. "It's some kind of twisted plot from her."

"You're delirious," Jennifer declared, going back to cutting up cucumber whilst Robert shook his head.

"You'd best leave, Uncle Peter," Robert spoke.

"I won't let you do this."

"I already did it at four o'clock today," Robert responded and Browning reddened.

"I'll fight against this and I'll fight against her. She's no good for you."

"Enough," Robert snapped. "Just go, Uncle."

Browning turned on his heel, quickly moving from the apartment whilst Robert sighed to himself, running a hand along his cheek as he leant against the worktop, watching whilst Jenny continued to chop.

"Are you okay?" Robert asked and she placed the knife down, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head against the golden tie which he wore.

"I'm fine. You?"

"I will be," he simply spoke.

...

A/N: Once again a big thanks to all my regular reviewers! Hope you're still enjoying! Let me know what you all think!


	19. Chapter 19

Jennifer had given into Robert and his demands. She had been in LA for over a week and a half and Robert had pleaded with her to stay with him for another couple of weeks. She had agreed, feeling that she owed him everything for the lie which she was feeding him. She'd called her accountancy firm, telling them to take on a temp and she would give up her wages for them to do that. She didn't want to quit. She didn't want to say that she was leaving for good. Her parents had seemed rather put out by her behaviour, saying that she had responsibilities as well as Robert did.

The splitting up of his company was taking its toll on Robert. He was rarely at the apartment and often worked until eleven at night. Jennifer was becoming worried for him. He was driving himself to destruction.

But, she didn't mind his long hours. It gave her time to go into the dream world. Ever since that day with Eames she knew that she needed to go in again. She had to go and see her sister again. And so, she had done her research, finding out what she needed in order to do it. The silver briefcase was placed in her cupboard, locked away and hidden. She always made sure that there was a self induced kick. She couldn't get stuck in there with her sister.

She knew that it was stupid of her. She should have someone there with her who was a professional. But, bringing Eames back didn't seem like an option. He'd told her that there was no more to it. He said it was dangerous and he'd gone off somewhere. She assumed he had more of LA to see. Or more girls to woo. She wasn't sure or bothered.

"I can't believe I forgot about this charity dinner," Robert complained as he placed his purple tie onto his shirt and Jennifer sat on the bed, completely ready whilst he dashed around the room. She looked at him, taking in his paleness and the bags under his eyes.

"We don't have to go," she promised him, playing with the top of her lace dress as she did so.

"We do," he deadpanned with her. "This charity was one which my father sponsored and I'm going to keep on doing it...my mother...she died from cancer...so it only seems right that I do this for her."

"I know," Jennifer agreed with him. "I'm just worried for you, Robert. You're spending more hours at the office than anywhere else and it's showing. You're looking thinner and gaunt and you're hardly sleeping."

"I'm fine," Robert shrugged it off and Jennifer shook her head at hearing that before she stood up and slipped into her black heels.

"I don't believe that," she challenged him. "And neither do you."

"Jenny," Robert sighed her name, wrapping his arms around her waist as he did so. "I'm okay. I promise you."

"Just...take a couple of days off, please, Robert. For me?" she asked him and he sighed once, closing her eyes slightly as he did so and he began to shake his head.

"I can't, Jennifer," she responded. "I still need to do a lot of things. When I'm up and running then I will do. I promise you."

"You know that I want you to do the best that you can, Robert. I just worry that you're running yourself into the ground by doing it."

"I'm not," he replied with a smile of encouragement in her direction. "Honestly."

"I don't believe you."

"We're not arguing about this, Jenny," Robert mumbled, kissing her on the top of the head quickly before he let her go and shrugged into his jacket. "We're going to go to this dinner and socialise and everything will be fine."

"Yes, Robert." Jennifer managed to agree with him, not believing him at all.

...

"Ah, Arthur," Eames sighed when he saw the other man sit opposite him at the bar which he was at. Arthur placed his hand against his tie, flattening it out as he did so and he watched Eames as he downed his scotch. "What brings you here?"

"You should know why I am here," Arthur hissed back at Eames, his face stern and bored as he did so. Eames arched a brow, ordering another scotch whilst Arthur shook his head. "You shouldn't be drinking so heavily. It is six in the evening."

"Thank you for your concern over my health, darling," Eames replied. "How did you know that I would be here?"

"There's a gambling table and you're very predictable," Arthur replied to him and Eames chuckled, pulling out his red chip and twirling it in between his fingers as he did so.

"What have I done wrong anyway?" Eames enquired, taking his scotch as he did so.

"You took Fischer's fiancée into the dream world, didn't you?" Arthur checked and Eames looked slightly confused, his brows furrowing together as he did so.

"Have you been following me, honey?" he wondered and Arthur tried not to snap back at Eames.

"No. But she has managed to get her hands on her own equipment. I met with Dom who had been speaking to Jonah. You've heard of him, haven't you?" Arthur checked and Eames nodded in agreement with him.

"He's a fellow extractor, isn't he?"

"He is," Arthur confirmed for Eames. "He's been talking to Cobb who refuses to sort any of this out."

"So you thought you'd step up?" Eames checked, wondering how Jennifer could be so stupid to do this by herself. Did she not know the repercussions? Had he not told her that it was too dangerous? "And he gave her the equipment?"

"He did," Arthur confirmed. "The worst part is if her fiancé finds out. It could blow everything which we worked towards, Eames."

"I won't let it," Eames assured him, draining off the remainder of his alcohol before he stood up from the bar stool, placing his chip back into his pocket and looking around the room. "I'll go and talk to Miss Reynolds."

...

Jennifer held the champagne flute in her hand, looking around the room as she walked in and out of the crowds of people, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she remained by herself. Her fiancé had decided to go and speak about business, telling her that he wouldn't be long as she silently fumed. Did he know what it felt like to be left alone in a room full of strangers?

Jenny smiled as she passed people, not stopping to make small talk as she did so. She shook her head to herself as she came to the foyer of the large mansion which the event was being held in. The foyer was empty and deserted, just full of coats on coat racks. Jenny slowly moved down the steps and onto the gravelled driveway, walking along the length of the house until she came to the lawn at the back of the mansion.

"I'm sure that your fiancé will be looking for you."

The thick British accent moved into Jenny's ears as she blinked quickly and turned around. The darkness was surrounding LA which made it harder for her to notice him as he placed his hands into his pockets and looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"How did you know that I was here?" she wondered, noting that he was wearing a tuxedo.

"Your fiancé's schedule isn't hard to look into," he promised her. "Besides, I need a word with you."

"Oh?" Jennifer asked as Eames stood opposite her, his eyes glaring into hers as he shook his head.

"Don't play the innocent card with me, Jenny," he pleaded with her. "We both know what you've been doing in your free time."

"Do we?"

"Jenny," Eames complained and Jennifer sighed to herself, drinking some more of her champagne as she folded her arms against her stomach.

"You said that you wouldn't do anything more," she told Eames. "I couldn't leave it there."

"How many times have you gone under?" Eames enquired from her and she bit down on her lips whilst he continued to stare at her.

"A few," she admitted and he ran a hand through his hair.

"Darling!" he complained to her and she blinked profusely.

"I know it isn't real, Eames. I'll be fine."

"Mal said the same thing," he snapped out. "You'll get lost if you keep this up, Jennifer. You'll end up like your sister."

"Don't talk stupid," Jenny hissed and Eames shook his head in denial

"I'm not!" he snapped back to her. "I'm the one who is talking sense. You'll become lost, Jenny. What happens if Fischer finds out?"

"He won't."

"But if he does then there is a chance that he could find out that we preformed Inception on him!"

"And that's all you care about, isn't it?" Jenny barked out. "You just care about me keeping your dirty little secret. Well, it's too late. Robert has split the company up. You're safe."

"He still can't find out," Eames told her. "And I don't really care about him finding out. It doesn't affect me. What I do care about is you being lost to something which isn't reality."

"Why do you care?" Jennifer wondered from him and his face looked slightly hurt as she asked him that question and he studied her face which was on the verge of hysterical. "I'm not your problem, Eames."

"Is that what you think?" Eames pondered and she nodded.

"I know it," she responded. "I'd best go...just leave, Eames. There is nothing which you can do."

"Do you think that?" Eames asked, his hand wrapping around her wrist and pulling her back to him, his face inches from hers as she glared up to him.

"I know it," she replied. "You can't stop me from doing this."

"You can watch me, darling," Eames spoke gruffly.

"I'm not your concern, Eames," Jenny replied, her eyes moving across the features on his face as he set his jaw out in a stubborn manner. She snatched her arm from his hold and looked at him strictly. "Now, just leave me alone, okay? Robert will be wondering where I've gotten to."

Eames allowed her to leave him in the night as she stormed back inside and he remained stood where he was, shaking his head and kicking his foot against the wall in annoyance with her stubborn attitude.

...

Peter Browning hadn't intentionally meant to spy on Jennifer. He had simply seen her leave the mansion and had followed her, determined to know what had happened to Robert to make him split up the company. But, then he had heard her with a man named Eames. She had heard him mention something about Inception and he had become confused. Luckily, he knew something was going on. And he knew Robert's fiancée was not as innocent as she had appeared.


	20. Chapter 20

Jenny heard Eames mutter under his breath before he kicked the wall as she walked away from him, taking a deep breath to compose herself before she re-entered the large dining hall where the charity dinner was taking place. She stood in the foyer for a second, placing her empty champagne glass down onto the small table which stood underneath the mirror. She took a look at her reflection, wondering what she had done before she shook her head forcefully. Now was not the time for her to worry.

"Miss Reynolds."

Jennifer bit down on her tongue to stop herself from swearing out loud as she turned around, plastering on a small smile as she looked at the man stood opposite her, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his beady eyes glaring in her direction.

"Mr Browning," she replied. "I didn't expect to see you here this evening."

"Well, this charity was supported by Maurice. I considered it only right that I came here."

"How lucky for the people inside," Jenny said, her voice rather innocent but her words full of sarcasm as Browning chuckled lowly, moving closer to her, his eyes glaring onto the marble floor as he did so.

"Well, it seems that there are people inside," Browning said, twisting her words as she crossed her arms over her stomach, waiting for him to continue as she arched a brow. "But, there are also two intriguing people outside who are whispering in the darkness to each other about something or nothing. My bet is that it is something."

Jennifer remained silent for a moment, her eyes searching Browning's with worry as her face paled. She felt the blood run cold in her veins as his heated up, his eyes alive with excitement at her worry. He had her right where he wanted her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jennifer decided to play that card with him before she tried to push past him. But, Browning had other ideas. He quickly pushed her back, causing her to stumble and grab onto the table behind her for balance as she looked around, trying to find an escape route.

"Don't play dumb with me, Miss Reynolds," Browning snapped back to her. "We both know you're not dumb and neither am I. I heard you whispering outside with that man. You managed to plant some idea into Robert's head to split the company up. And now...you're going into some dream to communicate with your dead sister."

"Leave me alone," Jennifer hissed at Browning and he grinned, folding his arms and looking down onto Jennifer, realising that he had hit a nerve. "You don't know anything about what happened. You're just interested in getting Robert's company back. Well, you can't. He's already destroyed it."

"Perhaps," Browning responded. "But, seeing his face when I tell him what you did will be interesting. I've been right about you all along."

"Have you?" Jenny wondered. "You don't know anything. You don't really know what has happened. You're latching onto an idea and running away with it. Is Robert really going to believe you when you tell him that I planted some idea into his head? And for your information, I did no such thing. You've got nothing on me."

"Perhaps I don't have anything now," Browning nodded in agreement with her. "But, I will find out. You can mark my words, Miss Reynolds."

"Why would you do this?" Jennifer whispered up to him, looking fearful and angry at the same time. Browning had to admit that she did look slightly wounded. But, that was of no interest to him. "Robert is happy. Why can't you let him be?"

"You're no good for him," Browning challenged her. "You never have been."

"Jenny."

The pair of them jumped back, Jenny still clinging onto the table behind her as Browning smiled at his godson. Robert continued to walk up to them with hesitation on his face, his eyes full of wonder as he looked from his fiancée and to the man he had classed as family.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, his eyes looking at Jennifer as she looked ahead and at Browning who was smiling at Robert, his eyes full of glee and joy as he did so. He shrugged one shoulder before speaking.

"Brilliant," Browning responded. "Everything is brilliant."

...

"Does this have something to do with my Uncle Peter?" Robert asked Jennifer as she stood in the living room of the apartment later on in the evening. She'd changed out of her dress and into her pyjama's, brushing her teeth and then tying her hair up before she walked back into the living room where Robert sat, telling him that she wanted to go back to Australia.

"No," she lied. Yes. It had everything to do with his Uncle Peter. She needed to keep Robert away from him. "I have family over there, Robert. My parent's will be worried and I have a job which I could lose at any moment."

"I'm just about to recreate my own company," he protested to her, shaking his head as he did so. "I could do it in Australia, but, LA is like a hub for business, Jenny."

"We've been here nearly two weeks," she informed him. "You told me that it would only be a few days."

"That was before I had the idea to take the company apart," he complained to her, still sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed and she stood by the TV, pacing up and down by it as she did so. She should never have agreed to go along with this plan. She should never have lied to Robert. But she had done. And now it was too late.

"I'm going to bed," Jenny mumbled to him and he picked up on her annoyance with him.

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Whatever."

...

Eames was used to breaking and entering. He supposed that wasn't something which he should really admit to. But, he knew that he had to do it to get to see Jenny. He'd watched as Fischer called a cab and jumped in, leaving the apartment building before Eames pushed himself from his own rented car and moved up the lift. Breaking into apartments was quite easy. He never found it to be a hard task. As soon as he entered the living room, he looked around, seeing that there was no sign of Jenny before he moved into the bedroom.

"You silly girl," he complained as he saw her laid on her bed, the wire attached to her arm and her breathing come out in short pants. He shook his head, tempted to just wake her up from the dream she was having, but, he left her. He took a seat at the stool to a dressing table and watched as she moved around in her sleep.

"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty," he called out when he saw her eyes flutter open and she sat up, glaring over at him before shaking her head in disgust.

"You can't keep breaking into the apartment," she snapped at him and he shrugged nonchalantly.

"I've come to confiscate the equipment," he informed her, nodding to the silver case which sat on her bedside table and she shook her head, pulling the wire from her arm as she did so.

"I don't think so, Eames," she declared in a hiss. "It's mine. Besides, we have bigger things to worry about?"

"Like?"

"Robert's godfather overheard our discussion last night," Jenny informed him and Eames took a second to think about what they had been yelling over and his eyes widened. He shook his head, leaning forwards and burying his head into his hands as he did so.

"Bugger," he grumbled.

"Exactly," Jenny mumbled. "I tried to get Robert to go back to Australia but he wouldn't. He's not having any of it. Browning has threatened to tell him. I should have just spoken up in the first place."

"No, you shouldn't have love," Eames declared and Jenny shrugged ruefully, pulling up the straps to the vest top she wore as Eames continued to grumble incoherent noises. "We need to stop Browning from finding anything out. If he discovered about dreams and their power and what Inception is then we're in trouble."

"We're in big trouble, anyway," Jenny commented. "He's not going to drop this. He's going to tell Robert and then Robert's going to break up with me."

"No, he won't," Eames assured her. "He'd be a fool if he did. You're going to have to tell Robert."

"What?" Jenny snapped out and Eames stood up, packing the case away whilst Jenny watched him. "So now I'm allowed to tell him?"

"Stopping Browning seems hard and it would be better coming from you then it would be coming from him," Eames informed her. "It would give you a chance to salvage your engagement, wouldn't it?"

"And if it doesn't?"

"Well...you'll come to that bridge when it happens."

...

A/N: Thank you to Lovely Rain Dancer, reverie-sriptor and NeedNotNoName for reviewing the previous chapter! I know, how horrid is Browning? Next chapter, well, everything is revealed! Please do review and let me know what you think!


	21. Chapter 21

Robert had never felt so sick in his entire life as soon as Browning had left him alone in his office. He sat back in his leather chair, swivelling around as he did so to look out of the floor length window and onto the views of LA. He didn't know what to believe. Yes, his mind had been trained to resist attacks. An extractor had taught him years ago.

Browning couldn't wait to deliver the news to Robert. He'd researched and finally managed to find out about Inception, his mind being unable to comprehend the nature of it to begin with. He'd been told that it was a lengthy process, almost impossible. But, he'd then been told that it was possible. He had also done his research of when it could have happened to Robert. He didn't have all the knowledge about it. He just told his godson that he thought it was what had happened to him. Robert had laughed him off at first, telling him not to be so stupid. And then he had told him about Jenny's sister. He knew that she had one and he knew that she had committed suicide.

"Ask her for the truth," Browning declared to Robert. "Ask her why she committed suicide."

Robert had told Browning to leave, not daring to hear anymore from the man's mouth as his mind remained in a tizzy. He didn't need for it to continue to be confused by the man. No, he was going to ask Jenny. He trusted Jenny. She wouldn't lie to him. Browning had to be lying. It only made sense.

...

"I ordered Thai food for dinner," Jenny informed Robert as she unpacked the brown paper bag and opened up the tubs, seeing what was what as Robert removed his jacket and placed it onto the small kitchen table, watching as his fiancée danced around the kitchen. "I know that it's your favourite and I paid for once seeing as how you weren't here. And don't worry, it isn't rubbish Thai food."

"Smells good," Robert smiled lightly, walking over to her and helping her to unpack the tubs as she beamed back at him and he chuckled once in disbelief. How could he ever doubt her? "I had my Uncle Peter in the office today."

"Oh?" Jenny wondered, walking to the fridge and pulling the orange juice carton out whilst Robert continued to pour food onto plates. "What did he want?"

"It's going to sound crazy when I tell you," Robert admitted to her and she took a deep breath, knowing that it was the time to tell him. She had hoped that she could do it after dinner, giving herself one moment of normality with him as they drank and discussed things of no interest. Robert turned to look at Jenny who hadn't responded to his comment and he saw how her eyes glittered with wetness and she stood on the spot, holding her orange juice carton and biting down on her bottom lip.

"Jenny?" Robert whispered her name and she ran a hand down her cheek, shaking slightly as she did so.

"I didn't want you to find out like this," she whispered softly to him and he placed down the plate he had been holding, folding his arms as he did so and looking at her with worry. "I wanted to wait...and tell you properly..."

"Is it true?" Robert asked, his voice one of hurt as Jenny placed the carton back into the fridge, her hands shaking as she did so.

"Sit down, Robert," she pleaded with him and he shook his head, unable to move even if he wanted to. He needed the truth. That was all that he needed from her.

"No. Tell me what happened," he demanded and she gulped once, trying to ignore the lump which was forming in her throat as she did so.

"I think that you should sit down, Robert," she informed him and he shook his head, slamming a fist down against the worktop, tiring with her delaying the conversation. Jenny recoiled at the noise, seeming to shrink smaller against the fridge as she did so and she sobbed once.

"Just tell me!" Robert bellowed and Jenny nodded.

"It was on the flight to LA," she whispered. "They...they planted this idea into your head...the idea that it would be best for you to split up your father's company..."

"No," Robert replied, his hands tugging through his hair as he did so, shaking his head from side to side, wondering what had happened inside of his mind whilst Jenny watched him, still feeling the tears spilling into her eyes. "My father...he wanted me to do this...he wanted me to be my own man..."

"They planted that idea into your head, Robert," Jennifer mumbled. "They gave you that idea so that you would split the company up. Your empire was expanding too fast...someone paid for a team to make you split it up."

"Who?" Robert wondered. "Who would have done that to me?"

"I don't know," Jennifer lied to him. She was doing it now. Even when he knew the truth she couldn't stop lying to him. She didn't particularly feel like bringing Saito into this mess. It wouldn't affect him anyway. "I just know that is what happened, Robert."

"It doesn't feel like that," Robert whispered, the rage slowly dying down in his voice as he dropped his head into his hands. "My mind feels clear...I don't understand..."

"You're not supposed to feel anything," Jennifer whispered slowly. Robert quickly looked back up at her, his blue eyes wide with wonder as he did so.

"And you knew?" he checked with her. "You knew that I'd been living a lie and you let me carry on with it? You let me whittle millions away?"

"You wanted to!" Jenny snapped back at him. "You thought that it was what your father had wanted. You thought it would make him happy...I thought it was for the best...you and him have been arguing for years. It gave you happiness."

"Happiness?" Robert spat the word out, his mouth feeling toxic after he had said it. "And now I know that it's all a lie. I know now that when my father said disappointed to me, he really did mean it."

"No," Jennifer quickly denied. "He didn't."

"Yes, he did!" Robert yelled back at her, his voice causing her to shake even further as he continued to watch her. "And you...you've been by me...watched me...knowing that it is all a lie, how could you, Jenny?"

"I...it's complicated, Robert," she whispered softly. "I saw you happy...I saw that you were becoming your own man and not being afraid to live under Maurice's shadow. I didn't know how to tell you."

"So you lied to me?" Robert checked and she remained unable to move at hearing that word. She'd turned into a liar. And what for? Nothing.

"I never wanted to hurt you," Jennifer whispered. "Trust me, Robert."

"Trust you?" Robert spat. "Do you think that I can trust you again?"

"You can," she whined, moving over to him, placing her hand on his arm. He shook her off quickly, glaring back down at her as she placed a hand over her mouth to hide the noises coming from her. "I didn't want to hurt you...please..I wanted to tell you...I did...I didn't know how to do it...please...Robert..."

"And your sister?" Robert asked suddenly and Jenny turned quiet, her eyes widening as he looked back at her. "What happened to her?"

"She committed suicide."

"I know," Robert snapped. "But why? Browning told me to ask you."

"She got lost," Jennifer whispered. "She got lost to her dreams...there's a way...to force yourself into a dream...Amanda did it...she stopped understanding what was real and what wasn't."

Robert remained quiet as he listened to her tell him that and she ran a hand up and down her arm.

"I couldn't tell you, Robert," she whispered. "My family don't speak about it...it's...we just don't...no one would understand."

"But that's another secret you kept from me," Robert replied harshly and Jenny flinched, shaking her head as she did so. "How can I trust you, Jenny? How can I trust anything which you say?"

"You can!" she pleaded with him. "Please...I love you, Robert."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Robert chuckled darkly, moving over to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of wine whilst Jenny watched him and he pulled a glass out. "Is there anything else which you've been lying to me about?"

"No!" she bellowed and he arched a brow.

"Really? Because no would be the time to tell me that you've only been after me for my money," he informed her and Jennifer felt her heat beat stop suddenly. Her entire body became numb as he looked at her intently and her face turned to anger.

"How could you?"

"I don't know, Jenny," he shrugged wildly. "Maybe it could be to do with the constant lie you've been feeding me? It wouldn't shock me."

"You know that your money never interested me," Jenny snapped at him. "I love you regardless of anything. If you really think that then maybe we should call the engagement off?"

"Maybe we should," Robert replied as Jenny nodded once at him, not backing down. "It might be for the best."

"Fine," Jenny yelled, removing the ring from her finger and throwing it back at Robert. "I'm sorry for lying to you, Robert...but...I did it to protect you...I did it for you..."

"I don't need protecting," Robert spat back, downing some wine whilst Jenny pushed past him.

"Goodbye, Robert."

...

She didn't know where else to go. She was alone in a big city and he had given her the room of his hotel if she needed someone to talk to. He'd taken away her equipment and had told her to talk to Robert. She'd said it would go horribly and she had been right. So, he said that she could come to him if she needed somewhere to stay. That was how she found herself knocking on room twenty, standing in the simple plum coloured dress which she had worn the other day. Her purse contained a few hundred dollars and her passport and that was it. She had nothing.

He opened the door wearing his purple shirt which had a few buttons undone and was tucked into his trousers. He looked down at her with his gray eyes as she looked up to him.

"He...he called it off," Jenny began to cry and he sighed once, holding the door open for her as she moved into his room. "I told him and he hates me, Eames."

"Hey," Eames whispered, closing the door and wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed against his chest, allowing her own arms to move around his waist. "It'll be all right, darling."

"It won't," Jenny denied. "It really won't."


	22. Chapter 22

Eames didn't know how long he had been sat on his bed, leant against his headboard whilst Jenny leant against his side, still sobbing into his purple shirt and he remained silent, comforting her with his simple hold. She'd rested on her side, her head on his chest whilst his hand ran up and down the length of her back, his breathing was deep and her head continued to bob up and down against his flesh.

"You need to try and talk to him," Eames whispered to her and she hiccupped loudly before she shook her head, sitting up and looking over to him. She used the palm of her hand to rub her eyes and she felt her soft skin moisten with her tears. Her eyes found his gray ones as she contemplated speaking, wondering if she could manage it whilst looking at him and talking about Robert.

"He doesn't want me," Jennifer mumbled. "He wants nothing to do with me and he won't listen. He thinks I'm a liar. And I am, aren't I?"

"You hid the truth from him," Eames simply spoke in his deep, rich voice. His tone was comforting as he looked at her, wondering how Fischer could be such an idiot to dismiss her like he did. "You did it to protect him, Jenny. Give him time and he will see that."

"He won't," she said, her pessimistic attitude beginning to reveal its hidden streak as she crossed her legs on the bed, lacing her fingers together and Eames looked down at the wet patch on his shirt. "Robert made it perfectly clear what he thought about me. He asked if I had only been with him for the money."

"He was angry," Eames defended him. Why was he doing that? He had no idea. "It would have been one of those heat of the moment judgements."

"It wasn't," Jennifer said defensively. "He's gone...Eames...I can't go back there..."

"Yes, you can," Eames snapped back at her. "Do you love him?"

"Yes," Jennifer said without a moment of hesitation. "What does it matter? He doesn't love me-"

"-Don't be ridiculous," Eames snorted and he stood up, his hands resting onto his hips as he paced up and down the side of the bed, his head continuously moving from left to right as he did so. "He was angry. We all have arguments, Jenny. He'll realise that it's not important and that you were only trying to do the right thing. He won't give you up."

"How do you know that?" Jennifer barked back at him, pointing to the door as she did so, the tears streaming down her face once again whilst Eames looked at her pityingly, his own eyes wide. "How can you be sure that he'll come and ask for me back?"

"He'd be a fool if he didn't, darling," Eames replied, his voice taut and loud whilst Jenny watched him cough and push a large hand through his thin hair before he looked back at her. "And I don't think that Robert Fischer is a fool, do you?"

...

Eames allowed Jennifer to take a shower and calm down, informing him that she would speak to Robert the next day. He'd sat on his bed for a few moments before he made his decision. He quickly stood up; informing Jenny he had to pop out via the bathroom door. She'd mumbled an okay and then he left.

Standing outside of Robert Fischer's apartment had not been on his agenda for the day. But, there he was. The clock had just struck half past eleven when he knocked loudly, listening intently for movement before the door swung open. He recognised Fischer; of course, the same courtesy could not be extended. Robert's brows rose in confusion and his eyes narrowed, the glass of gin still sat in his hand as he looked onto Eames.

"And who are you?" Robert asked and Eames took a moment to hold in a breath. He often wondered why he bothered with men like Fischer. The lack of manners took Eames all of his self control not to snap at him.

"I go by Eames," he spoke simply and Robert continued to look confused. "I'm a part of the team which performed Inception on you."

Robert's jaw instantly set into a stubborn manner as he began to close the door, not wanting to listen to anyone else tell him about what had happened to him. Eames was faster to react, quickly placing his foot in the doorway and his palm rested against the wood, holding it open as Robert glared at him from behind the doorway.

"I need two minutes of your time," Eames spoke; his voice dangerous and low as he did so. "It's about your fiancée."

Robert groaned but allowed him to push the door open, walking back into his kitchen and pouring himself another drink as he did so, calling back to Eames on his way;

"She's my ex."

"I am aware," Eames promised him. "She's spent the past five hours in my hotel room crying."

Robert's eyes flashed dangerously at hearing that as their blueness shot back to Eames, challenging him to say something else, but, the taller man simply chuckled darkly at that.

"Don't worry," Eames said simply. "I'm not having an affair with her. She needed a shoulder to cry on."

"And I can bet that you were more than happy to comply, weren't you?" Robert responded and Eames picked up on the jealous tone before shrugging once at him, trying to be nonchalant as he did so.

"She's madly in love with you," Eames promised him. "And I know you still love her."

"Of course I love her," Robert snapped back. "I can't bury that, can I?"

"No," Eames said, his voice downtrodden as he did so. "You simply can't."

"So what has she been doing with you?" Robert asked; intrigued as to why this man was here. He downed the remainder of his alcohol, pulling his purple tie lower down his white shirt whilst Eames remained stood behind the breakfast bar, sitting awkwardly on one of the seats.

"Once we had preformed Inception on you then she wanted to tell you. I had to plead with her not to. And then she saw how happy you were...she saw how you had reconciled with your father and she didn't know how to destroy that. She did it to protect you."

"That still doesn't answer my question," Robert replied. "I want to know why you two are so close."

"We're not really," Eames drawled out. "Jennifer asked me a favour. She wanted to enter the dream world to talk to her sister. I took her in once and ever since then she'd been doing it by herself."

"Amanda, right?" Robert checked the sister's name and Eames nodded at him in agreement. Robert chuckled to himself, unable to believe what was going on as he allowed the alcohol to flow from its bottle and into his glass. He needed some form of comfort in his life at that moment in time. "She said that she committed suicide."

"And she had done," Eames nodded in reply to that. "Jennifer said that she hadn't told you. She said that no one knew."

"No," Robert confirmed. "But she was comfortable enough to tell some strange man who had deceived her fiancé. She couldn't bring herself to tell the man she's supposed to marry."

"She only asked me because she knew that I could help," Eames defended her decision. "She had nothing to do with your Inception. If she told you then there was a chance that you'd remember and there was a chance that you'd think that she was crazy."

"She should have tried," Robert hissed. "She should have told me. I'd never keep anything from her."

"We're not all perfect," Eames responded. "Jenny knows that now. But, punishing her for doing something out of love isn't right."

"What?" Robert replied, feeling the alcohol move straight to his head. "You want me to forgive her?"

"We both know that it would make sense," Eames declared, standing up and tapping the worktop as he did so. "Jenny is suffering enough. I know that you will need time to forgive her, but, you can do it."

"And why would I do that?" Robert wondered.

"You'd be a fool to lose her," Eames said and Robert looked at the man for a moment, taking in the glittering of his gray eyes as he did so and his jaw hung open for a second. "You're a lucky man, Mr Fischer. Jennifer is an amazing woman and she's completely in love with you. What kind of a man would throw away someone like her?"

"You're...you've fallen for her, haven't you?" Robert's spat out and Eames raised a brow, folding his arms as Robert shook his head.

"She's your fiancée; Mr Fischer."

"That doesn't mean that you can't like her...I mean...why else would you be here...trying to make her happy?"

"If I had really fallen for her do you honestly think that I would be here trying to patch up the relationship between you two?" Eames enquired and Robert pursed his lips together before Eames chuckled and shook his head.

"Unless you've put her own happiness before your own," Robert wondered and Eames shook his head, pointing to the bottle of gin.

"That's gone straight to your head," he promised him. "You just need time to think. Jennifer will be back in the morning. You two can talk then."

Eames began to move to the door whilst Robert watched him go.

"I've seen that look before," Robert called out as Eames placed his hand onto the door handle. He turned his head over his shoulder to look back at Fischer who was smirking in disbelief. "That look on your face...I wore it when I met Jennifer, too."

"Goodnight, Mr Fischer," Eames simply spoke, walking out of the apartment and wondering to himself how Robert Fischer knew what he felt.

...

A/N: So, I once again thank my reviewers-NeedNotNoName, reverie-scriptor, Lovely Rain Dancer, NewSlove and K9Train! Let me know what you think!


	23. Chapter 23

"You said what to him?" Jennifer snapped at Eames when he walked back into the hotel room two hours later. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she glared over at him and he placed his hands together and flopped down onto the bed, closing his eyes and listening to what Fischer had said to him over and over again.

"I had to do something," Eames mumbled back at Jenny. "You and he were going nowhere. I think that he knows what you did was out of love. He's just annoyed with you. That's all."

"You had no right to go and see him, Eames," Jennifer spoke back, her voice slightly lower but still hurt as she did so. She sat down on the edge of the bed and shook her head, turning her neck around so that she could see him. "But, thanks."

Eames peered through one eyelid, looking over to her as she sat in a shirt he had leant her and he arched a brow at her, wondering how she had gone from anger to thanks in less than five minutes. She really did intrigue him.

"Why are you thanking me?" Eames asked her and she shrugged gently.

"You tried to make it better between Robert and me," she mumbled. She quickly stood back up and began to move around the room, folding her clothes up and placing them over the chair which sat in the corner of the room. "You didn't need to do that. Why did you?"

"You were hurting," Eames informed her, trying to be nonchalant as he did so. "I don't like to see pain, darling. It kills the vibe."

"And here I was thinking you cared about me," Jennifer replied, a small smirk rising onto her face as she did so and Eames rolled his eyes from behind his closed lids, willing her to even know the half of it. She would never know. He was pretty sure of that. He could tell that she didn't feel anything for him other than friendship and he was fine with that. He wasn't going to force her to feel something different.

"That too, love," Eames mumbled. "That too."

...

Eames drifted off the sleep and awoke in the middle of the night, looking around the dark hotel room as he did so. He had half expected Jenny to be sleeping by his side, but, the sheets were neatly in place and she was nowhere to be seen. He reached for the light on the bedside table, turning it on before he pulled himself from the bed, his cotton pyjamas falling down slightly as he did so.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he walked around the room before he saw the light from the bathroom from underneath the door. He knocked on the wood gently, his ear pressed against the whiteness of the wood as he did so.

"Jenny?" he asked her. "Are you in there, darling?"

He received no answer and so tried again, finding that there was nothing. He turned the golden doorknob and tried to open the door, but, it was locked. He shook his head, moving back around his rented room and he bent onto his knees, looking under the bed at where he had stored the silver case he had confiscated from her.

"You stupid girl," Eames complained, standing tall again when he saw that it was empty and he quickly forced his way back to the bathroom, banging on the door and wondering how to break it down. In the end he was much too clever for sheer force. He had become an expert at breaking and entering and picking the lock to the bathroom door was not a hard task.

The light flooded his eyes as he looked to where Jenny laid, her body curled by the side of the bath whilst the case sat on the closed toilet seat and he looked at it, shaking his head as he did so. Why did she do this? Why did she continuously defy him? He knew why. She'd had a taste of the dream world and found it much more preferable in comparison to her reality, especially the reality which she was living in at that moment in time.

Eames perched against the edge of the closed toilet seat, placing the case onto the floor and waited until she finished the dream, knowing that the kick wouldn't be too long in the real world. When she awoke he saw how her body trembled and she sat up, quickly pulling at the cord to bring it from her wrist. It took her another couple of seconds before she saw Eames sat by, his face saddened but not full of disappointment like she had imagined.

"You need to stop this, Jenny," he said, his voice low and commanding as he did so. Jenny leant against the side of the bathtub, clinging onto it for support as she pulled herself to her feet and Eames packed the equipment away. "Your dreams are slowly becoming your reality."

"I know what is real," Jenny replied in a whisper. "Who can blame me for escaping into them when my reality is crumbling before me?"

"It is crumbling because of something which happed," Eames said, knowing that he needed to be tough on her if she was ever to give up this dream she had. "You can change it. You know that and so do I. A dream is not healthy for you."

"It isn't your decision to make," Jenny snapped at him, trying to leave the bathroom. But, Eames was quicker, jumping in front of the doorway and blocking her from going.

"There are people who care about you, Jenny," he informed her. "People who don't want to see you get hurt and end up like your sister."

"Like who?" Jennifer barked at him. "Robert can't stand to look at me! He told me that much!"

"There's not just Robert!" Eames yelled at her. "You have your parents! You have a life back in Australia! If Robert is stupid enough to give you up because of this then maybe you're better off without him...maybe he's not good enough for you..."

"And why do you care?" Jennifer wondered, standing tall, her eyes glaring into his gray ones as he looked back angrily at her and he rolled his own orbs, pointing to himself as he did so.

"You want to know why I care?" Eames asked from her. "You want to know why I made sure you didn't go back into the dream world? You want to know why I've stuck around this long? I could have gone anywhere, Jenny. I could have left LA the second I stepped off that plane. I didn't need to give into your demands or stick around when I met them. But no, I sat in bar after bar, night after night whilst you and Robert broke up his company for the past few weeks. I stuck around LA and I could have gone."

"Well why didn't you?" she asked from him and he shook his head, tugging at his hair for a moment as he did so.

"Because of you!" Eames yelled and she looked stunned at hearing that. "I couldn't leave in case you needed me...I couldn't leave because I didn't want to...I didn't want to be far away from you."

"Why not?" Jenny asked him. "I was nothing to you, Eames. I was simply there when you incepted my fiancé!"

"You're nothing to me?" Eames checked and she nodded to confirm before he shook his head chuckled. "How I wish you were right."

Jennifer stepped back from him for a second, looking up at him as she did so and he looked back at her, shaking his head before he spoke in his soft voice.

"I've begun to fall for you, Jenny," he admitted to himself and to her. "And there's nothing that I can do to stop it."

...

A/N: So, thank you to NeedNotNoName, Lovely Rain Dancer, NewSlove, K9Train and Chromatique for reviewing! There is still a lot more to come and I think I know how it is going to plan out. But poor Eames, I do feel a bit for him in this one. Anyway, let me know what you think!


	24. Chapter 24

"I'm not the one you need, Eames," Jennifer spoke softly to him as he sat outside of the apartment block Robert Fischer was holed up in. Jenny wore the same clothes as she had done yesterday, her eyes glittering in the sunlight along with tears as Eames sat behind the wheel, his face stern and emotionless as she looked at him. "You'll find someone else...honestly...you'll know when you find the one."

"You think so?" Eames checked with her, scepticism held high in his voice as he spoke to her and she nodded quickly at him. "I disagree."

"Eames," Jennifer sighed his name and he closed his eyes, shaking his head as he did so. The way she said his name was something he didn't think he would ever tire of hearing. Each passing moment which he spent in her company made him realise that he wanted her more. But, she was too far gone with Fischer. She'd never fall for him and he knew that. He just needed to get her away from him and he needed to leave LA. He had to get out.

"You'd best go in," he said, pointing to the tower and Jennifer nodded, wondering what she should say to him. She'd spent a great deal of time telling him how she wasn't the one for him and that it was nothing but a little crush. Telling him that Robert was the one who she loved almost began to sound mechanical, like it was something she was supposed to say. In the end she questioned whether it sounded genuine or not.

Jennifer opened the car door, placing one leg onto the sidewalk as she turned back to meet his gray eyes and she smiled gently in his direction.

"Look after yourself," she urged him and he rolled his eyes at her, the smirk she had become accustomed to seeing held on his face.

"You don't need to worry about me, darling," he promised her. "Now go and patch things up with that billionaire of yours."

Jennifer nodded once at him, climbing from the car and slamming the door shut before she took a deep breath, preparing to go up to Robert's apartment as she did so. She knew that things weren't going to go smoothly. She just hoped that she could patch up their relationship. She needed Robert more than she cared to admit and she knew that he felt the same way about her. She'd become dependent on him. As she rode the elevator, Eames' image came popping into her face and she felt herself begin to cry, placing a hand over her mouth as she saw his hurt face. How could she do that to him? Why did he have to tell her how he felt? She saw him as a friend. She saw him as someone who she could come to rely upon.

She managed to compose herself as she walked slowly down the hallway to the apartment, moving into her bag for the set of keys which Robert had given her as she placed them into the lock, the clicking noise it made telling her that there was no turning around. As she entered she prepared to apologise straight away, but, she heard talking coming from the open spaced kitchen.

"It might not be too late. We just need to share the energy between both companies," a deep voice spoke as Jennifer pulled her keys from the door and held them in her hands, walking through the living room until she saw the pair of them in the kitchen.

The clicking of her heels on the wooden floor made them both look up, one set of eyes narrowed and one set of eyes wide as she stood still behind the breakfast bar, glancing at the multiple pieces of paper which sat on the worktop as she did so.

"What's going on?" Jennifer managed to ask.

"It isn't in your place to ask, is it, Miss Reynolds?" Browning's harsh voice snapped back at her and Robert sighed once, pushing his hand through his hair as he did so. "Do you want me to call security up, Robert?"

"Are you serious?" Jennifer snapped out before Robert had the chance to glare at his godfather and he shook his head quickly.

"It won't be necessary," Robert responded, eyeing his fiancée with curiosity as she looked back at him and Browning took his chance to smugly grin, pleased with the outcome of the events as he did so.

"We're building Robert's empire back up to how it was. We're attempting to redo the damage which you inflicted upon him," Browning hissed at her and Jennifer's eyes went wide as she looked back to Robert who shrugged nonchalantly.

"It wasn't my decision to break the company up." He simply informed her and Jennifer could have sworn she felt her jaw slacken at hearing that.

"What happened to being your own man?" she enquired from him, placing her bag onto the stool and looking at Robert with wonder. "What happened to you wanting to be something? You wanted to go somewhere, Robert."

"It wasn't my idea to do that," he simply spoke back to her and she shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing from him as she did so. "I'm getting things back to the way they were, Jennifer. I want my old life back before any of this happened."

"And does that include me?" Jennifer wondered from Robert and he looked at her, the two of them remaining quiet and searching each other's eyes as they did so. Robert bit down on his tongue, determined not to speak first, determined to let her tell him that she wanted to come back. He wanted her to tell him that Eames meant nothing to her. The way he had looked last night worried Robert. He spent his hours of the night wondering if she looked back at him the same way.

"Do you want it to include you?" Robert decided to ask when it became apparent that Jennifer wasn't going to say anything. She nodded once at him and he nodded back at her.

"And Eames?" Robert wondered and Jennifer gulped loudly, thinking back to him whilst Robert walked around the small table, standing at the end of the breakfast bar as he did so. "I saw how he looked last night, Jenny. He's fallen for you."

"Hold up now," Browning interrupted. "She's been seeing another man? She's been cheating on you?"

"How-"

"-No," Robert interrupted before Jennifer could blow her top. He looked at her as he said it, his head shaking back and forth as Jennifer watched him back. He knew that she had lied to him, but, she would never do anything like what Browning had suggested. She didn't have it in her and Robert was going to suggest anything otherwise. "She didn't have an affair."

"How do we know what she lied about?" Browning scoffed, looking back down at his paperwork as he did so. "For all we know they could have been planning to take all your money by her marrying you."

"Enough," Robert said, his voice cold and controlling as Jennifer watched him defend her. "Uncle Peter, it doesn't concern you. Jenny would never do anything like that."

"And how do you know that?"

"I know her," Robert snapped. "I know that she wouldn't do that to me. Now, if you will excuse us, I'd like to talk to her somewhere private."

Jenny followed Robert through to the bedroom, glaring at Browning for one last time as she did so, closing the door to the room as he paced up and down the width of the bed, his hands frantically pushing through his hair as he did so.

"I saw him last night," Robert whispered to her. "I saw how he spoke about you."

"I know," Jennifer admitted in a whisper. "He's nothing more than a friend to me."

"I know that, too," Robert said, looking back at her as he did so. "I know that because you've come back to me."

"How could I not?" Jennifer wondered and Robert smiled lightly at her. "I'm still sorry for what I did and I know that it will take awhile for you to even contemplate forgiving me."

"He said that," Robert spoke softly. "I didn't know if I could ever forgive you...but...he said that you did it because you loved me."

"You already knew that," Jennifer mumbled, trying her upmost not to cry in front of him whilst he undid the top button to his pinstriped shirt and placed his hands onto his hips.

"I know," Robert whispered, moving his hand into his pocket and pulling out the small rounded object she had thrown at him less than twenty four hours ago. "I want to make this work...we just can't have any more secrets."

"I know," Jennifer replied and Robert closed the space in between them, picking up her hand and slowly placing the ring back onto her finger as his finger curled under her chin, bringing her face to look back up at him as he did so.

"I do love you," he assured her and she felt a lump rise into her throat as she wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head into her chest. She had him back, yet all she could think about was Eames. She should be happy. This was what she had wanted. She loved Robert. But, all she could picture was Eames and the way he told her how he felt. The way he had poured his heart out to her. She saw it now. She saw how he had protected her from her dreams and throughout the Inception he had done the same. The flirtatious glimmer in his eyes was always around and she noted how he always took a deep breath before he saw her. She just didn't think about it. But now, as she stood and Robert held her, she found that Eames and his habits were the only things which she could think of.

...

"Have you seen this?"

Eames began to murmur under his breath as heard Arthur's voice move into his ears, wondering if it was possible for him to even be at the same bar he was at. He was like some stalker.

"Good afternoon to you, Arthur," Eames replied and Arthur took a seat on the barstool next to Eames, slamming the paper down onto the bar as Eames glanced at the title and rolled his eyes at what he saw.

"Fischer is rebuilding his father's company. Do you have any idea what this means?" Arthur hissed and Eames nodded in agreement, toying with the gin which sat in his glass as he did so.

"Jennifer told him about it. His godfather heard her and me speaking about it and she had no choice but to tell him everything."

"What? How did he hear you two talking about it?"

"It's a long story which I would prefer not to talk about," Eames mumbled and Arthur rolled his eyes as he did so.

"Cobb's fled LA with his kids," Arthur mumbled. "He thinks that Saito will come looking for him and change the agreement which they had. He's scared for his life, Eames."

"Is he safe?"

"For now," Arthur replied. "He's tempted to try and perform Inception on Fischer again."

"There's no point."

"I told him that, too," Arthur replied. "I'm going to talk to Saito about this mess. What do you intend to do?"

"Sit here and drink until closing time," Eames said, downing his gin as Arthur watched him for a moment. "And then get on a plane out of LA."

"That doesn't sound healthy."

"It probably isn't," Eames admitted, ordering another drink as Arthur watched him.

"I hate to ask," he admitted, "but is everything okay?"

"No," Eames answered truthfully. "Nothing is okay."

"Do you...do you want...well..."

"Are you offering to be my shrink?" Eames asked, a brow rose in amusement and Arthur coughed awkwardly, ordering himself a drink as he did so.

"I'm offering to listen to you moan about which girl stood you up," he joked and Eames looked at him, the seriousness in his eyes telling him that it was something completely different to that. Arthur looked slightly concerned. He had never seen Eames in such a bad way before that it worried him slightly.

"She was serious?" Arthur checked and Eames nodded once.

"It's a shame that she is serious about another man," he commented and Arthur's brows furrowed together at hearing that.

"She was taken?" he enquired. "And you had an affair with her?"

"God no," Eames chuckled. "She loves him too much to do that."

"I don't follow," Arthur admitted.

Eames chuckled, looking down into his glass as he did so, realising that it would clicking his brain soon enough. And it did. It took him a moment to think of a girl who Eames had seen more than once to even consider having feelings for.

"His fiancée?" he checked and Eames nodded to confirm. "I didn't know you ever felt like that...well...you don't do you? It has to be a passing fancy?"

"The only thing which makes it pass is the alcohol," Eames assured him. "My tab is going to be so huge that I'll need to flee the country by tomorrow."

"I'll buy the next round," Arthur shrugged gently.

"Why, Arthur," Eames began sarcastically, "are you offering to be a shoulder to cry on, darling?"

"Certainly not," Arthur spoke back quickly. "I don't want your tears ruining my suit."

Both men looked at each other for a second, a smile of mutual understanding gracing their lips as they did so.

...

A/N: This is so not the end, by the way. Much more to come! I thank K9Train, susubeansu, Lovely Rain Dancer, NeedNotNoName, SARAHBABE215 and Chromatique for reviewing. I think that is the most reviews I've got for one chapter of this story so thank you very much.

I hope you enjoyed and do review!


	25. Chapter 25

Jennifer stood in the bathroom, her hands holding onto the sides of the large porcelain sink as she allowed the cold water she had just splashed onto her face to trickle down her cheeks and onto her neck. She looked at her reflection in the mirror above the sink, seeing her reddened face and her heavy breathing as she thought about what had just happened. She'd been sleeping peacefully, allowing her thoughts to consume her before she saw his face in her sleep. Eames just wouldn't leave her mind and she had no idea why. She'd awoken with a start, looking to her side where Robert slept peacefully and she had rushed out of bed and to the bathroom to calm herself.

Robert was her fiancé. He was the one she wanted. He was the one who had gotten down on one knee and proposed to her. She should be dreaming about him and not about a man she had known for less than a couple of months.

"Are you okay?" Robert's voice suddenly asked as he knocked at the door and listened to the running water from the sink. Jenny jumped suddenly and gulped loudly, nodding at herself before wiping her face on one of his fluffy white towels. Slowly, she opened the door, looking at him as he stood before her in his cotton pyjamas, her hair all ruffled and messy. She forced a small smile onto her face as he looked at her suspiciously.

"I'm fine," Jenny whispered back to him, folding her arms and motioning to the bathroom behind her. "I just had a bit of a bad dream and needed to get up. That's all."

"Okay than," Robert replied in a mutter. He didn't even bother to ask what she had dreamt about. "Well, I'm going to go back to bed. Are you coming?"

"In a minute," Jennifer said, her voice hoarse as she looked up at Robert who avoided her gaze, seeming more intent on staring at her forehead. "I'm just going to get a drink."

"Alright," Robert mumbled. "I'll see you in a bit."

He turned on his heel and began to move down the apartment again as Jennifer watched him and sighed to herself, rubbing her hand against her forehead. She moved into the kitchen, pulling out a glass and filling it with cold water. She downed it quickly, pouring another glass after a moment and then she looked at the bedroom door which was partially open and she took a moment to think. Her eyes drifted over to the sofa and she moved across to it, settling down onto the plush leather before reaching for the blanket over the back of it. She pulled it tightly across her body, holding her glass in her hand as her fingernails took a chewing too and she remained silent, sat in the dark and thinking.

...

"I talked to Saito," Arthur informed Eames as the pair of them left the bar at half past one in the morning. Arthur had called the other man, telling them of the issue which they faced. Yes, he did sound angry that Fischer knew and was back in business, but, he had informed them that it wasn't Cobb's fault. The man was with his children and he was nowhere near Fischer. Instead they fed him a lie and said that it was possible that Fischer found out on his own accord. They didn't need to drag anybody into more mess.

"And?" Eames asked, trying not to slur his words as he did so.

"And, he was pissed," Arthur nodded quickly. There was no point in sugar coating it. "But, he doesn't think that Cobb is responsible. I did tell him that there was a chance Fischer would remember and he seemed to fall for that story."

"How very clever of you, Arthur," Eames responded in a chuckle and Arthur settled himself back onto the barstool, looking around the dive of a bar which they had spent their last few hours in. That was time in his life which he wasn't going to get back. But, something told him that if he left Eames then the man would be unbearable. He didn't think that he would be able to make it back to his hotel if he upped and left at that moment.

"Things are looking up," Arthur commented, trying to be upbeat and Eames snorted, twirling the gin in his hands as he did so. Arthur was beginning to wonder how much the man could drink without passing out onto the floor. He also wondered how much was on his tab.

"Why did I have to go and do it, huh, Arthur?" Eames enquired, now his words came out in a flurry so Arthur had to listen intently to understand what he was saying. "Why did I have to go and care about a woman who couldn't care less if I was dead or alive?"

"You don't know what you're saying," Arthur responded, sipping on his glass of tap water which tasted slightly off. He didn't dare ask where the water from the tap had been filtered. "Jennifer is his fiancée, Eames. You knew that from the start."

"I also know that he's an idiot," Eames complained. "I know that he's an idiot who doesn't really care for her."

"You're just saying these things because you're drunk and tired," Arthur responded quickly and Eames shook his head, sitting up straight, his head moving back against his neck as he coughed and then gulped before burping, his fist resting over his mouth. "You need to sober up and you need a clean break."

"I need another drink," Eames said hastily.

"No, you don't," Arthur put his foot down and Eames scowled at him as the other man shook his head forcefully. "You don't need any more to drink. Come on, we'll get you back to the hotel."

And for once, Eames didn't argue as Arthur led him from the bar and onto the streets of LA.

...

One week had passed since Robert had slid that engagement ring back onto Jennifer's finger. One whole week and they had only just managed to exchange pleasantries with each other. Every morning was the same, Robert leaving early whilst Jenny slept and then he came back in the evening when Jenny made an excuse to leave for the gym. When she came back he was often working on the company, already having eaten dinner which left her with having to find something for herself.

The paparazzi were becoming increasingly annoying, probing into Robert and wondering why he split his company up and then rebuilt it. They also wanted to know wedding details which made Jenny shiver when she saw the paper article about it.

"I've been thinking," Robert said lowly as he moved into the living room where Jennifer sat, her lap containing a laptop she had bought as she emailed her work some of her client's account numbers. She looked up to Robert and saw that his hands were on his hips and his eyes were downcast. "I think that it would be best if you signed a prenuptial."

Jennifer felt her heart sink. She felt her mouth become dry as she looked down onto her laptop screen and remained silent as Robert sat himself down on the leather chair to the side of her.

"You said before that you didn't mind signing one," he reminded her. Her eyes rose to look into his sharp blue ones and she glared at him.

"That was before you wanted me to sign it," Jennifer whispered and Robert rolled his eyes, pulling at the purple tie on his shirt as he did so. "That was when you had undoubted faith in me."

"Jennifer," Robert said her name strictly. "It really isn't a big deal. You said before that you would sign it. Why are you making an issue out of this?"

"I'm not!" she denied to him. "But back when they wanted to sign it you defended me. You said that I wasn't after you for your money and that you believed in me...but...now...for you to want me to sign it...it means that things have changed, Robert. It means that you don't trust me."

"You're overreacting," Robert complained. "Why were you so willing to sign it back then but not now?"

"Because back then you loved me unconditionally," Jennifer snapped, slamming the lid of her laptop down and placing it onto the coffee table as she did so. "Back then it didn't matter to me because you knew that I didn't want your money. I still don't. You're doing this because you don't trust me, Robert."

"Can you blame me?" Robert wondered, pushing his hands through his hair as he did so. "I don't know what to think, Jenny. I almost lost my father's company because of the lie you kept from me. I don't want a repeat of that."

"I don't care about your money!" she barked at him, shrugging into her blazer which she'd left next to her. "You seem to care about it more than I thought. You know, I honestly believed that you wanted to be your own man and do something for yourself. But you don't, do you, Robert?"

"Yes," Robert snapped. "I just don't want to lose my father's company for doing it. I can invest with some other money."

"And I've begun to wonder what you want more, the money or me," Jennifer admitted and Robert rolled his eyes at hearing that. "We've hardly said anything other than 'can you pass me the salt?' to each other this week."

"I've been busy."

"You're always busy," Jennifer complained. "I'm going out."

"Where?" Robert wondered as she walked over to the door and grabbed her bag from the coat rack it sat on.

"I need some fresh air," she replied. "I need to clear my head."

"I'll leave the document on the side for you to look at," Robert said simply to her. "I might not be here when you come back."

"Where are you going?"

"It's a business dinner," Robert informed her with a nonchalant shrug.

"You didn't tell me."

"I didn't think that you'd want to come," Robert admitted to her. "It isn't your thing."

Jennifer nodded once before moving out of the door and closing it gently, feeling herself almost on the verge of breaking point as she moved down the hallway and to the elevator. She knew where she was going and she knew what she was going to do. She'd researched places where you could go and just dream. She was well aware that Eames would have killed her if he found out. But if Robert found out? Jennifer didn't think he'd even care.

...

"Where will you go?" Arthur asked from Eames as he stood in the departure terminal of the airport, looking at all of the different airlines which offered available seat for their flights. Eames was studying each one with intent, wondering where the best place would be. Arthur held onto his small duffel bag whilst Eames toyed with the handle of his case. Arthur was intending to be on the first flight to New York which departed in another two hours.

"What do you think to Europe?" Eames wondered gently. "Possibly Italy?"

"I've never been," Arthur shrugged. "It sounds nice. You don't have to stay for long if you don't like it."

"No, I don't," Eames said and moved over to the ticket desk whilst Arthur checked the board for flight times.

Eames quickly bought his ticket, getting rid of his case as he did so and noting that he had to transfer in the UK before heading out to Italy. The two men checked in and then made their way through security together before standing and looking out onto the planes on the runway.

"This is it then," Arthur said as Eames stood opposite him and they heard the New York flight being called.

"Oh, Arthur," Eames joked, "don't you go all soppy on me now, darling. Our fling in LA has been rather...tolerable."

Arthur chuckled and rolled his eyes whilst Eames grinned and he looked at him with a small smirk.

"I'd say tolerable would be the correct word," he admitted, looking over to his gate as people began to file over to it and he nodded once at Eames. "Take care, Eames."

"You don't need to worry about me," Eames grinned, looking back onto the runway whilst Arthur picked his bag up and slung it over his shoulder.

"I don't," he assured Eames, the pair of them grinning as he walked off to his gate and Eames was left with another hour to wait. He remained stood next to the window, watching the planes take off and land until his flight was called and he nodded to himself, knowing that leaving was the best option.

...

A/N: So, I decided to go with Lovely Rain Dancer's idea of how Saito wouldn't be mad with Cobb, it seemed right. Anyway, thank you to Lovely Rain Dancer, NeedNotNoName, NewSlove, K9Train and SARAHBABE215 for reviewing!

Let me know what you think so far!


	26. Chapter 26

Robert was slowly noticing the changes in his fiancée. He had tried to make conversation with her. He had tried to talk to her about mediocre things like the weather and build on a conversation from there. But, Jenny was having none of it. She spoke to him politely, her eyes meeting his, but, he saw something different in her. He didn't see the woman he had fell in love with. He didn't see the strong willed, independent accountant. No, he saw a woman on the verge of breaking point and he didn't know how to save her.

"I'm worried about you," Robert whispered softly one evening as the two of them sat in the apartment and Jennifer looked at him, her eyes slightly blurred and her brain tired after spending the day in her dream with Amanda, holed up in that safety. The safety which was slowly becoming her only reality.

"Why?" Jennifer asked him, stabbing to the lettuce leaves. Robert had managed to come home and prepare a salad for their dinner after finding out Jenny was in the gym thanks to her note. The prenuptial documents were still on the worktop and without a signature. Robert hadn't pushed them upon her and Jenny hadn't looked at them, preferring to think that they weren't there.

"You've seemed distant recently," Robert informed her. "I know that we haven't been having the best of times, but, you don't seem...it's like you're not here, Jenny. I can't explain it."

"I'm fine," Jennifer lied to him with a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know why you'd think otherwise."

"Let me see, Jen," Robert said, his voice curt and short as she stared at him with her wide green eyes, wondering what he was getting ratty about as she prodded her tomato onto her fork. "You and I barely talk anymore. We've not been intimate in over three weeks and the prenuptial still hasn't been signed. What's happening to us?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Jenny snapped back at him quickly, still eating her tomato as she did so. Arguments with Robert had become the norm and she was well aware of that. "You're rarely here, Robert. Every time I attempt to speak to you then your phone goes off and you claim it is an important business call. Every call seems to be important."

"I'm sorry if I have a business to run," Robert replied, his voice sarcastic as he ate a slice of cucumber and shook his head at her. "I'm trying to make it work."

"What?" Jennifer asked. "Us or the business?"

"Both," Robert declared. "You're just not making it easy on me."

"So it's my fault, is it?" Jennifer barked back at him and he shook his head, pointing his finger at her as he did so.

"I never said that, did I?" Robert replied and Jenny bit down on her tongue, not wanting to admit that he hadn't said that. The implication was there, but, he hadn't said it. She shook her head, feeling the bottom of her dark curls bouncing on her shoulders as she did so. "I want the old you back, Jennifer. I don't know what is going on with you, but...you're not you."

"And you're not you," Jennifer replied and he looked away for a second. He was well aware that he spent the majority of his time at the office and trying to figure out how to build his company back to its former glory. "You come in late at night and leave early in the morning. We barely see each other, Robert. And then you tell me that you want me to sign this prenuptial but you say that you don't care about money. It's hypocritical, Robert."

"It's logical," he simply said, dropping his knife and fork onto his plate and allowing it to clatter down as he did so. He was becoming tired with their arguments.

"It shows that you don't trust me," Jennifer said back to him, doing her best not to let the lump in her throat build up as she did so. "It shows that things have changed."

"Did you think that they wouldn't?" Robert replied, shrugging his shoulders wildly as he did so. "Did you honestly think that anything would stay the same when I found out about this Inception and you lying to me?"

"No," Jennifer admitted to him. "I knew that it would change everything...and I don't know how to change it back."

"I need to be able to learn to trust you," Robert said back to her, his voice low as he did so and she looked back at him, knowing what he was talking about.

"Everything that I did was to protect you," Jennifer whispered. "I just wonder if you'll ever be able to trust me again."

"One day, perhaps," Robert shrugged it off and Jennifer stood up, placing her plate into the sink before informing Robert that she was going out.

...

Robert was ashamed to say that he followed Jennifer to the location which she had headed off to. He'd jumped into the next cab after hers and told it to follow her. He didn't know what possessed him to do so. She was never at the apartment and she always said she was at the gym in the apartment building, but, she was never sweaty. She was never at the apartment during the day either; he knew that from the cleaner who came around once a week.

And so it led him to follow her. Any sign of trust in their relationship seemed to have been reduced.

But then Robert saw where she had gone. He followed her down the steps, keeping his distance until he saw the room in the basement of some bar and he looked around at the people who were laid on dirty off white loungers, their wrists attached to wires and he remembered some training which he'd had years ago. He remembered being one of them for a short time. He looked across to where Jennifer lay; her body limp as her eyes shut. He walked over to her, standing above her as he looked down.

He slowly perched himself down onto the side of the lounger and ran his hand over her cheek. She was living in her dreams. Robert was slowly losing her to a dream.

...

He left before she awoke, standing outside of the bar and leaning against the dirty brick wall until he saw her re-emerge. She was zipping up the jacket which she had as she ran her hand through her hair and looked around.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Robert asked her and she turned around and looked at him, shaking her head as she did so.

"You followed me," she checked and he nodded.

"I wondered where you were going. Why didn't you tell me?" Robert asked her and she shrugged.

"I didn't know how to," she admitted. "It isn't something I talk about, Robert."

"Do you go there to see your sister?" he asked and she shrugged.

"Partly."

"What's the other part?" Robert asked her and she looked away from his ice like blue eyes and onto the quiet street. "Jennifer, you need to tell me if we're going to make this work."

"It doesn't matter," she said quickly to him. "It just gives me time to leave reality."

"Why do you want to do that?"

"Because reality isn't all that it is cracked up to be," she spat out and Robert sighed at hearing her.

"Let's go home," he said and she nodded, walking by his side as she felt his hand try to reach for hers. She winced once at feeling the coolness of his skin and instantly she closed her fingers into a fist and folded it across her waist. Robert watched her as he stood still on the sidewalk, his jaw slacken slightly as he did so.

...

"It's got to stop," Robert declared from Jennifer the next night when she came back home and he shook his head. She looked at him and arched a brow. He was stood in the kitchen, his hands tugging through his hair and then moving onto the tie against his chest as he did so. Jennifer looked at him with narrowed eyes as he shook his head. "You've been dreaming again, Jennifer."

"Are you having me followed?" Jennifer snapped at him and he nodded.

"With good reason it seems," he snapped back at her and she shook her head quickly.

"I can't believe you," she said. "You can't do that, Robert."

"How can I not?" Robert asked; his voice going high pitched as he looked at her. "You're sneaking off and slowly losing yourself. You're hiding something from me again, Jenny. I thought that we were going to be honest. This is not being honest, is it, Jenny?"

"I...no..." Jennifer admitted to him. "I can't stop it...Robert...I can't stop going."

"What do you mean?" Robert asked her and she shook her head, feeling the tears building in her eyes as she ran a hand against the surface of the worktop.

It didn't seem real.

None of it seemed real.

"I don't know," Jennifer admitted to him. "I don't know what's happening...but...there's something wrong..."

"I think...Jenny...I don't think you're well," Robert whispered, looking at her and seeming truly concerned as he did so. He walked over to her, looking into her eyes as she looked back at him and he remained silent for a second, simply searching her eyes.

"I'm fine," she snapped back at him.

"No, you're not," Robert replied to her. "You're not well and you won't let me help you."

"I don't need help!" Jennifer snapped at him. "You don't know what's real, Robert."

"What?" he asked, his brows furrowing together as he did so. "Jenny, you're worrying me."

"I'm fine," she replied to him. "There is nothing wrong with me."

"There clearly is, Jen," Robert hissed at her. "Let me help you...let me take you to see a psychiatrist."

"What?" Jenny barked and shook her head. "That's not helping me. That's shrugging me off onto someone else because you can't deal with me."

"I can't," Robert admitted; his voice on the verge of hysterical as he did so. He felt his shoulders shake up and down whilst Jennifer blinked profusely and Robert stepped back, leaning against the worktop. "I don't know what to do, Jennifer. I don't know how to help you and you won't open up to me. You're like a closed book and I don't know how to change it. I want to help you."

"I don't need help," Jennifer denied in a whisper.

"You do," Robert argued softly. "What's happened to us? What happened to make us like this?"

"A ten hour trip to LA. That's what happened," Jennifer said lightly and moved away from the kitchen and into the bedroom, shutting the door to it whilst Robert remained looking at the closed door, his face emotionless as he realised that their engagement was disintegrating.

Robert toyed with his phone for a couple of minutes, wondering if calling him was the right thing to do. Jennifer was never going to open up to him and she was never going to stop going into her dreams unless he physically restrained her. He didn't know if the man he wanted to call would make a big difference or not. He didn't know if it would make any difference. He just knew that he had to try.

...

Eames was beginning to think that his life was just a constant airport. There he was, sat in the departure lounge of the airport in Paris and awaiting for a flight to the States. He'd received a phone call as he walked through the streets of Paris, taking in the sights and looking for the best bar to sit at. He could have said no. He could have refused to go back to LA, but, he'd been weak. He'd said that he would be there as soon as he could. The pompous billionaire had even called ahead and had a fist class seat reserved for him.

Eames sighed as he entered the first class cabin and folded his arms over his chest, closing his eyes and trying to get some sleep before he had to deal with the exhausting task of snapping some sense into the annoying woman the next day.

...

Jennifer sat in the diner down the road from the bar which she went to when she needed to dream. She sat down and wrapped her hand around the cup of coffee as she did so, looking onto the stained plastic table which she sat at. No paparazzi ever followed you around when you came to dives of places. Robert had gone off to work early, looking at her pityingly as he did so and she had left ten minutes after him.

She barely noticed as someone slid into the bench opposite her and she looked up, her eyes finding his face and he looked back at her, remaining tight lipped as he looked at her and she allowed her mouth to part slightly.

"Why are you here?" was the first question which she managed to ask him and he shrugged.

"I'm not sure," he admitted to her. "I didn't have to come. Your fiancé wasn't that persuasive."

"Robert?"

"He is your fiancé, isn't he?" Eames asked her dryly and she remained silent for a second. "He told me everything."

"And why did he call you?" Jenny asked.

"I don't know," Eames shrugged at her. "I was shocked he managed to find my number but then I remembered that he would know everything. He's a billionaire. I don't know why he thinks that I can fix you if he can't."

"We're broken," Jennifer shrugged, looking into Eames and his gray eyes. "I missed you."

"Did you?" Eames asked and Jennifer nodded. "I doubt it."

"Well don't," Jennifer replied. "I really did, Eames. Where did you go?"

"Paris, Madrid, London, Venice," he shrugged. "I've been travelling."

"So it seems," Jennifer said back to him and he sighed for a second, looking at her and unable to believe what he was seeing. She looked like she was lost. She looked like she didn't know what was real and what wasn't. Eames leaned forwards, his hands resting on the table as he did so.

"Jenny, darling," he whispered, "do you know what's happening?"

Jennifer looked at him and gulped once, shaking her head as she felt tears begin to spring to her cheeks.

"I don't understand," Jenny said, the tear rolling down her cheek quickly as she did so. "Eames...none of it makes sense..."

"Sh," Eames urged her, moving his hand out to lace his fingers through hers and she began to sob harsher, her body shaking up and down as she rested her head onto her arm, her other hand moving out to reach out across to grab onto Eames's arm as his free hand stroked the dark curls on the back of her head. "It's going to be okay, darling," he assured her, lowering his own head closer down to hers. "I promise you."

...

A/N: So thank you to K9Train, NeedNotNoName, Chromatique and reverie-scriptor for reviewing the previous chapter! Do let me know what you all think, pretty please!


	27. Chapter 27

"I should have made you have a totem," Eames whispered after ten minutes. He didn't know why he'd sat there with her whilst she sobbed across the way from him. He didn't know why he was finding it so hard to sit opposite her. But, he was. Finally, he'd moved over to her side of the bench, his arm brushing against hers as she remained silent and watching her cup of coffee, trying to figure out what was real and what wasn't.

"A totem?" Jennifer asked him, looking up at him as he looked back down at her.

"It's a small object which an individual has and keeps on them to make sure that they know when they're dreaming and when they're not," Eames said gently, pulling out his poker chip and showing it to Jennifer. She looked at it as he kept it out from her reach, not allowing her to touch it.

"It's something which is special to the individual. No one else can touch it and no one else can know how it really works," Eames informed her, placing his poker chip back into his pocket and Jennifer remained mute. He looked back down at her with sympathy and she felt herself lean against him, sighing gently as she did so. His being back had to be a dream. It didn't feel real.

"You need to stop dreaming, Jennifer," Eames whispered softly, his head lowered so that he could talk to her and no one else could hear. Not that there was really anyone else inside of the grotty little diner. She certainly knew how to choose inconspicuous places. "It isn't healthy for you."

"How do I know what is a dream and what isn't?" Jenny wondered and Eames took a deep breath.

"This is real, darling, trust me," Eames spoke quickly. "This is reality."

"It doesn't feel real," Jenny mumbled back to him and Eames stood up, holding his hand out for her to take and she looked at him sceptically. "What?"

"We're going out," Eames said. "You can't keep living like this, sweetheart."

"And how will going out help me?" Jennifer asked, but, she took his hand as he helped her from the bench. She leant back to grab her bag before she placed it onto her shoulder. Eames shrugged once, a small smile settling onto his face as he did so and Jenny looked at him with wonder.

"No idea," he admitted. "But, it can't be as unhealthy as sitting around in here, can it?"

Jennifer allowed a sharp intake of breath as she remained holding onto Eames's hand and followed him from the diner and onto the streets of LA.

...

Robert sat in the car across the street from the diner as he watched Jennifer and Eames emerge from the diner. He shook his head gently as she saw his hand held in hers and how her strides managed to keep up with his. She was still looking downtrodden, her face showing no emotion as Eames looked over to the car where Robert sat and he nodded once at the young man in the backseat.

Robert gulped once but nodded back, knowing that Jenny was going to be fine with Eames. He felt something in his heart clench but he shook his head. He had to fight the tears which were building in his eyes.

He tapped his driver on the shoulder, instructing him to drive off. He settled back on the chair and closed his eyes, rubbing his hands down his cheeks as he did so. Words failed to explain how useless he felt when he saw Eames with his fiancée.

...

"What are we doing here?" Jenny wondered as soon as Eames informed the cab to stop and he opened the door, jumping from the cab and she followed him. The heat from LA was extreme as Jennifer held onto her bag tightly and followed Eames as he basically ran to the building; kicking open the fire escape door as Jenny's jaw fell open.

"Eames!" she snapped at him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I've told you that breaking and entering is a strong point of mine," Eames replied to her and she rolled her eyes but followed him as he began to take to the staircase, quickly moving it up as Jenny remained a few steps behind, unable to keep up his fast pace as he looked back down at her, still grinning.

"Eames, what is this?" she murmured and his grin broadened.

"You'll see," he informed her. "You'll ruin the surprise."

"What are you talking about?" Jennifer mumbled as the stairs never seemed to end. She quickly caught up with him as he slowed down slightly and they finally reached the top. Eames kicked open another fire escape before moving onto the roof of the building. Jennifer folded her arms across her waist as she stepped out cautiously onto the top of the building. Eames rushed to the edge, settling down on the ledge as he folded his legs and she walked over to him, scanning the view from the building whilst he motioned to it with an extended arm.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Eames checked with her. She continued to look over the view of LA. The skyscrapers were in the distance on one side and then the view of the beach on the other, the sun rising above all of them in the midday heat. Jennifer's eyes beamed slightly at the view and Eames looked at her with intrigue.

"You can't dream views like this, Jenny," he softly said as she stood beside where he sat. "This is LA, darling. This is where you are. It looks real, doesn't it?"

"It is quite something," Jenny said gently and Eames grinned at hearing her say that, her eyes still looking over the people on the floor who looked like little ants in comparison to everything.

"It is," Eames agreed. "And do you want to know how it is real?"

"How?" Jenny wondered.

"Because if you jump form up here then you won't wake up. You will die. This is real, Jenny."

Jennifer flinched at his words and he stood up, standing opposite her with wide eyes. He had to be harsh with her. He had to make her see that she wasn't living in a dream. She was living in reality.

"You're more than welcome to try it, Jenny. I wouldn't recommend it because I know this is real. I know we're not in a dream."

Jennifer peered over the edge, looking down onto the concrete and she thought about what Eames had just said to her. Her hair blew in the slight wind before she looked across to Eames who had his arms folded, his purple shirt covering his figure as he looked out onto the concrete jungle with her.

"None of this is fake, darling," Eames promised her.

Jenny took another moment, her hands resting on the ledge which she was clinging onto as she peered over the side, wondering about what Eames had said. She wondered if he was real. She wondered if he was lying to her. If he was telling her something to make her stay. She didn't know what to believe anymore. Her contemplation of jumping off the building was something which made her gulp loudly, her eyes watering slightly as she looked onto the small people below her, going about their everyday business.

And then she looked back at Eames. She looked back into his honest, gray eyes. The eyes which she knew she would be able to trust. He'd been nothing but caring and honest to her. He'd been the one who had helped her through everything. And then he had left her. He'd left with the knowledge of her being with Fischer. She'd hurt him but he'd come back. He still cared. Even in her dreams, she couldn't imagine anyone like Eames.

"I believe you," Jennifer suddenly said to him, realising that she couldn't jump off the building. She knew that Eames was telling her the truth. This was her reality whether she liked it or not.

She turned back to look at Eames and nodded at him and he took in a deep breath of relief.

"So you're going to give this up?" Eames checked and she bit down on her bottom lip whilst he narrowed his eyes at her, arching a brow as he did so. "Jenny, you have to give this up."

"Even if I know it is just a dream?" Jenny wondered and he nodded quickly, his hands resting on his hips as he did so.

"Yes," he snapped. "You could wind up like you did before, Jenny. You could go back to how you were. No one wants that for you. Fischer is worried about you, Jenny. So am I."

"What about if I promise-"

"-No," Eames interrupted her. "There is no going back. You go back to dreams when things get tough Jenny. You lose yourself because you feel better. But when you wake up it goes back to crap, doesn't it?"

"What do you suggest I do?" Jennifer snapped at him, running a hand through her hair as she did so. "You want me to live in this hell?"

"Yes!" Eames yelled at her, his hand wrapped around her upper arm and drawing her body closer to his. "You need to sort it out yourself. You can't keep running away."

"I can't sort it out," Jennifer responded, stamping her foot against the floor like a petulant child whilst Eames rolled his eyes at her. "He won't listen to me. He wants me to sign a prenuptial and he can't trust me! How can I make it right?"

"I don't know," Eames replied. "If Fischer is who you really want then you two have to work it out."

"That's the problem," Jennifer whispered. "I don't know if he does or not."

"He called me to come and save you. I think he does want you." Eames said in a murmur.

"I don't know," Jennifer replied, sitting back down on the edge and dropping her head into her hands. "I love him. I always have...but...our relationship...it's falling to pieces. I don't doubt that he loves me. He just doesn't trust me."

"It's all in your hands, Jenny," Eames whispered, sitting beside her and she tugged her curls behind her ear, looking over to him as she did so.

"That's the problem," Jennifer spoke to him. "I don't know if I want him."

...

Jenny walked back into the apartment later on in the evening, her head bowed and her hands clutched by her sides as she thought about what she had told Eames. She'd told him things that she had never told Robert. She'd told him how she feared that she was living in her dream. She told him how she was scared of not knowing what was real and not. She'd told him about how she and Robert were crumbling to pieces.

"You're back," Robert said as soon as he saw her deposit her keys into the small bowl on the worktop. He stopped pouring the orange juice which he had and he watched her as she sat down at the breakfast bar, her hands laced together and resting on top of the marble.

"Why did you call him?" Jennifer whispered. She managed to drag her green eyes to look into his blue ones. She didn't know what he was going to say. She didn't know why he had done it.

"I was losing you," Robert gently replied, moving to stand opposite her at the worktop. "I couldn't let that happen."

"Robert," Jennifer sighed his name softly, her hand running through her hair as she looked at him. "Don't you think that you've lost me already?"

Robert took in her words and shook his head softly, mainly in disbelief. He wasn't going to challenge anything which she said to him. She was talking sense.

"I didn't know what to think," Robert admitted, sipping on his own orange juice for a moment and Jennifer smiled sadly at him, reaching across to rest her hand on top of his. He looked down as her pale skin met his, the warmth of her hands ranging across to the coolness of his.

"Thank you," Jenny whispered. "I can't even imagine how hard it was for you."

"No," Robert chuckled softly. "You probably can't."

"I don't even know how to thank you," Jennifer responded. "He managed...he convinced me..."

"I can tell," Robert replied, smiling softly as he looked back up to her. He slowly moved his hand upwards, allowing it touch her cheek as he did so and she continued her staring at him. "You're back to your normal self. You look like you...I just wish that I could have made the difference."

"You did," Jennifer replied sternly, gripping onto his hand tighter as she did so. "You called him."

"You know what I mean," he mumbled. "I wanted to be the one to get you back. I should have been the one, shouldn't I? But...I couldn't do it...he could..."

"Maybe...Robert...do you think that any of this is right?" Jenny asked him and he shook his head softly.

"I've known for some time," he admitted to her. "Nothing has been right since the flight. I just wish that things had been different, Jen. I wish we never had to fly out to LA."

"But we did," Jennifer replied and Robert slowly pulled his hand out from underneath hers. "And if we didn't...you'd never have met him...would you?"

"Who?" Jenny wondered, playing slightly dumb as she did so. She looked at Robert with wonder and he continued to smile softly at her, lines forming at the side of his eyes as he did so.

"Eames," he responded. "I know, Jennifer. I know how you feel."

"Robert, I-"

"-You don't need to deny it," he promised her. "I've heard you talk about him in your sleep, Jen."

"I..what?" Jennifer asked, bemused slightly as she reddened.

"I didn't mention it before," Robert shrugged. "How could I?"

"I'm sorry," she blurted out to him. "I'm really sorry, Robert."

"You don't need to apologise, Jen," Robert promised her. "I've known for a while. I just didn't want to admit it. I do still love you...but...I don't know if I can trust you, Jen...and it hurts me..."

"I know," she replied. "Maybe...Robert...maybe it is time for the break? We can't carry on like this."

"It's not just me who thinks that?" Robert checked with her, slightly relieved as he did so. He didn't want to say anything. He didn't want to be the one to initiate their break up. A part of him couldn't admit it to her.

"No," Jennifer assured him, dragging her engagement ring from her finger as she did so. She jumped off from her barstool and walked around to where Robert stood, slowly pressing the ring into his hands.

"Keep it," he told her and she shook her head.

"I can't," Jennifer replied. "I can't keep this."

Robert nodded, pushing it into his pocket as he did so. Jennifer slowly stood up and kissed him on the cheek, her lips lingering on his soft skin as she did so. Robert placed his hands onto her hips, holding her close to him as she wrapped her arms around her neck, tightly holding onto him as she sighed once.

"Are you going to go to him?" Robert asked her and Jenny shrugged.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," she replied. "I need time to clear my head."

"Where will you go?"

"Back to Australia," she said without hesitation. "I need to go and break the news to my mum and dad."

"I need to inform the world's press," Robert replied, a slow roll of his eyes coming through as Jennifer leant back to look at him.

"Bad luck," she replied and he shrugged.

"I'll manage." He said. "Do you have enough to get you back?"

"Robert," Jennifer complained and he shook his head.

"Let me do this one last thing," he urged her. "I'll have the plane ticket waiting for you at the airport."

"Thank you," Jenny replied, deciding that it would be better for both of them if she just let this one go.

"No problem," Robert assured her and she let go of him, taking a deep breath before she nodded sternly. Was it wrong of her to feel relief that she'd taken that ring off of her finger? Was it wrong that she couldn't wait until she got out of LA and back to her parents? She didn't know.

"I'd best get packed," Jennifer said, placing her hands into her pockets and tilting her head to the side.

"Jenny," Robert called after her as she walked over to the bedroom. She stood still, turning back to look at him and he bit the inside of his cheek as she stared at him. "I don't think any less of you if you decide to be with him."

"I don't know what I want," Jenny responded. "We've just broken up. I need time."

"Well, just so you know," Robert shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't worry about the effects it will have on me. He's...he's not a bad man...really..."

"Thanks," Jennifer whispered softly and then moved off to pack.

...

Eames remained hidden around the corner of the building, looking straight across to where Jenny and Robert lived. He didn't know why he was still stood there. He didn't know what to expect if he had to be honest. It wasn't as if he didn't have things to do.

But, he remained stuck to the spot. He looked out as he saw Jennifer move from the building and he thought about making a move over to her. But, then he saw Robert behind her, wheeling her case out. He hailed her a cab as the two of them stood looking at each other and the driver placed the case into the trunk of the car. Slowly, Jenny stood tall and kissed him on the cheek, hugging him tightly around the waist before she pulled back and he kissed her forehead. He opened the door for her and she climbed into the cab. She waved slowly as she sped off in the cab and Robert placed his hands into his pockets, shaking his head as he moved around in a circle.

Eames moved from his hiding spot, walking over to where Fischer stood and the man looked at him before he moved into his apartment building. His hands flapped by his sides as he did so, his eyes wide but not tear filled.

"She's gone," he declared.

"What?" Eames wondered and Robert nodded.

"She's gone back to Australia. We...well...we broke up..."

"I'm sorry," Eames said out of slight sympathy. He wasn't all that sorry, he had to admit it.

"You're not," Robert replied, shaking his head at him. "You don't need to lie to me. Jenny and I have been over for a while. We've just been living in...well...a dream world. Thank you, by the way."

"What for?"

"Coming back here and saving her."

"I haven't saved her yet," Eames said back to him. "I don't know if she'll run back to her dreams or not. I don't think she will though."

"No. I hope not," Robert said truthfully. "Well, I'd best get going."

"Yes, you'd better," Eames sniffed, rubbing the back of his hand under his nose as he did so.

Eames continued to stand on the sidewalk, looking up the street until he followed it, not knowing where he was going to end up. He didn't know what he had expected. Did he expect her to break up with Robert and go crawling to him? No, he had to be realistic. She'd never admitted anything to him. She'd never felt the same way about him as he did about her.

She'd gone back to Australia for a new life and he...well...he didn't know where he was going to end up.

...

A/N: More to come dear readers! Once again, thank you to Lovely Rain Dancer, K9Train, NeedNotNoName, Chromatique, NewSlove, SARAHBABE215 and crimsontears327 for reviewing!

Let me know what you think!


	28. Chapter 28

"Jenny, darling."

Jennifer sighed as she rolled onto the other side of her bed, holding the covers up to her chin as she did so. She sniffed once, looking at the cream wall as she felt her bed dip, knowing that her mother was sat there.

"You need to get up, honey," her mother instructed her, looking around the empty room which contained some cardboard boxes from Jenny's flat which hadn't been unpacked back into her old room in the family home. "You can't lay here and mope around all day, can you?"

"What's the point in doing anything else?" Jennifer wondered, mumbling into her pillow so that her mother strained to hear what she had said in response to her question. "I just want to be alone."

"Darling," her mother sighed out. She rested her hand onto her forehead and Jennifer moved onto her back, looking up to her mother who looked as pained as she felt. "You need to get up."

"I've got no job," Jennifer complained. "I've had my apartment repossessed and I've lost my fiancé. What is there to get up for?"

"You're supposed to be getting over this, Jen," her mother scolded her slightly, standing up and placing her hands onto her hips. "I don't know what happened to you in LA...but...you need to talk to us and pick yourself up. Your father and I are worried for you."

"I'm fine," Jennifer lied, rolling back onto her side and hiding under her covers, sighing as she did so. "I'll get up soon."

"You'd best, Jennifer," her mother warned her. The young woman rolled her eyes at hearing that. She felt like a child. Well, she was behaving like one. She wasn't really sure what to do. "I'll make you some breakfast. Get up."

...

"We just don't understand why you and Robert broke up so suddenly," Jenny's father informed her as she sat at the dining table, eating her toast slowly as she looked at the paper which was in her father's hand. Robert and she were the headlines. She hadn't expected much else. There was a photo of the pair of them at some benefit and it was split down the middle, showing that they were apart. She managed to draw her eyes away from it and back down onto her empty finger.

"It wasn't working out," Jennifer replied with a shrug. She didn't want to seem too upset. She wasn't really. Yes, she was sad that they hadn't worked out. But...she knew that it would never work out between them. She'd blown it and Robert couldn't really forgive her.

"You just seemed so strong, Jennifer," her mother inputted, handing her husband a plate of bacon and eggs. He smiled up at his wife as she kissed him on the cheek and sat down in the chair in between her daughter and husband. "It all seems extremely hasty."

"As I said, it wasn't working out," Jennifer muttered back.

"Well, why didn't it work out?"

"It just didn't," Jennifer snapped, standing up and dropping her crust onto her plate, glaring at her parents as she did so. "Leave it."

"Jennifer," her father barked. "Your mother and I are just worried."

"Don't be," Jenny replied with a sigh. "I'm fine."

Four weeks later

Robert sighed to himself as he stood up from his chair in his office, swinging it around as he moved and he picked up the piece of paper which he needed photocopying. He moved out into the small reception area, handing the paper to his receptionist as she smiled up at him, making an effort to be polite with her boss as he continued to look glum.

Everyone in the office knew that he had left his fiancée. Well, that was the rumour anyway. Apparently she wouldn't sign a prenuptial according to Browning and she'd fled to Australia to hide.

"Mr Fischer," the blonde receptionist spoke as she opened the door to his office. She'd knocked but he hadn't answered her back, he'd simply continued to stare out the window which he did from time to time. He turned around in his chair as she walked in with the cup of coffee.

"Is anything wrong?" he wondered and she shook her head at him, placing the cup onto his desk as she did so. She dropped her hands onto her hips and looked at him with a small smile, shaking her head as she did so.

"I just thought that you'd like a coffee," she shrugged nonchalantly and he looked at the steaming hot liquid before back into her blue eyes. She tossed her hair behind her shoulders and toyed with the memo which was in her hand too. She didn't know whether or not to give it to him. He had a right to take the call if he wanted to. She was just his receptionist.

"Oh, right, thanks then," Robert spoke back, looking at her with intrigue as she dropped the yellow piece of paper onto his desk, looking down onto it as she did so.

"Your ex called, too," she finally declared with a sigh. "I told her that you were busy. I didn't know if you'd want to talk to her."

"Why wouldn't I?" Robert snapped back and the blonde looked put out slightly as she shrugged.

"I don't know," she mumbled back at him. "You...well...you broke up...I didn't know if it was a sore subject...there are rumours..."

"What rumours?" Robert asked, looking at the piece of paper as the blonde shook her head.

"Nothing," she said and his blue eyes found hers again. He continued to look at her with narrowed eyes and she took a deep breath, realising that he wasn't going to leave it. "They say that she left you because she wouldn't sign the prenup. We don't know what's true-"

"-Not that," Robert interrupted. "It's too complicated to talk about."

"Well, I'd best get back to work," she coughed after a moment, walking over to the door, standing in the doorway for a moment before she took her chance to turn back to look at him. "If you ever need to talk about it...well...make it uncomplicated...then I'm here."

Robert continued to stare at her as she closed the door and he looked back down onto his desk, wondering what had happened before he called Jennifer back.

"How are you?" he asked her as soon as she picked up after the fifth ring. "You said that you'd call before."

"I've been busy," she lied back to him, her voice flat and emotionless. "I'm fine. I thought that I'd see how you were doing."

"I'm coping," he admitted. And he was. He was coping to get over her. It had been hard, he had to admit it. But, he wasn't spending his days in bed crying over her. That wouldn't achieve anything. "Business is doing well so that takes up a lot of time."

"I know," Jennifer admitted to him. "Well, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."

"I am," Robert assured her. "But, I know that you're not."

"Do you?" Jennifer wondered.

"Yes," he replied. "You don't sound like you. Have you spoken to Eames yet?"

"Why would I do that?" Jennifer asked; her chest clenching as she heard his name and she winced. Yes, she'd tried to speak to Eames. She'd called him but received no reply. She didn't know what else to do. It had taken her four weeks to realise that she felt numb without him. Nothing seemed worth moving for. Nothing seemed to make her feel better.

"We've split up, Jenny," Robert reminded her. "You're allowed to date other people, especially men who you dream about."

"Are you dating anyone?" Jennifer asked and he gulped, pulling on his tie as he thought about his receptionist who had just walked in. What had that been about? Was she trying to get him to date her? He didn't know.

"That's not the point," Robert replied. "A month has passed and we're both still as miserable as when we were together."

"We weren't always miserable together," Jennifer reminded him and he chuckled back at hearing that.

"No, we weren't," he reminisced. "Look, I need to go, business and all that."

"Of course," Jenny agreed. "I'll talk to you later."

"Will you?"

"Well...maybe..." Jenny responded. "Goodbye, Robert."

"Bye, Jen."

...

Jennifer didn't know how to find Eames. She didn't know if she had left it too late to even try. His phone was never in service and he didn't have a permanent residence. She'd even called the hotel which he had been staying in, but, he'd left the same day that she had. Apparently he had the world to see. Jenny had hung up, trying not to sound disappointed as she thought about what to do.

Eames worked with people. She knew Dom and Arthur. She hadn't really spoken to them, but, she knew them. Maybe getting hold of Dom would be possible. He seemed to be the most stable person as Eames told her that he had gotten back to his children. She shook her head, knowing that it was worth a shot. Anything was worth a shot if it meant that she could find him.

Luckily for her, Dom was easy to find once she had researched him on the internet. Apparently he'd settled down in LA. But, he had told her that he didn't know where Eames was. He hadn't seen him since the Fischer job. She'd hung up, saying that it was okay that he didn't know.

But, Dom had been intrigued and had managed to phone Arthur, asking why it was so important. Arthur had chuckled, unable to believe what he had heard come from Jennifer's mouth. She wanted to find Eames. He had an idea where the man would be.

...

Jennifer couldn't find a job. Not that she was really looking. She'd some money in her account and she didn't have a mortgage to pay. She'd spent most of her time trying to track Eames down, but, each street seemed like a dead end. She was beginning to wonder if it was fate for her not to bother. Maybe they weren't supposed to pursue a relationship.

But, one week after her search had begun, she ran into someone she recognised. He was sat on the swings of the park which she used to play at, looking around before his eyes settled on hers. She stood still, turning to the side and seeing him sat there, staring back at her. She slowly pushed the gate open, hesitantly walking over to where he sat.

"Jennifer, isn't it?" he checked and she nodded to confirm.

"Arthur, isn't it?" she replied and he nodded at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Cobb called me," he admitted. "He said that you were looking for Eames."

Jennifer felt her heart skip a beat as she remained silent, standing on the spot and waiting for him to say something to her about her search.

"I am," she said, not using the past tense. "I don't know where he is."

"I do," Arthur replied, his tone stiff. "He's gone back to Mombasa."

"Mombasa?" Jennifer checked.

"It is where he lived before the job," Arthur shrugged. "I thought that he was going to travel, but, he went home in the end."

"Where about in Mombasa does he live?" Jennifer asked, sitting on the empty swing next to Arthur, not caring that she was going to be late for the interview which her father had secured her. No, it seemed irrelevant with Arthur next to her.

"I'll tell you," he promised her. "Eames...he...well...he was pretty cut up about you staying with Fischer that time."

"I know," Jenny said quickly. "I thought we still had a chance. It took me a while to realise that Eames...well...he was the one that I wanted, not Robert."

"I just don't want to see him hurt," Arthur whispered. "He doesn't really deserve it."

"I won't hurt him," Jennifer promised. "I swear to you."

"Okay."

...

"Turns out number thirteen is unlucky after all, huh?" Eames winced as the man next to him slapped him on his back and he watched as his chip was carted away. He remained holding onto the red one, rubbing it together in his fingers as he thought about where to place his next move. He continued to sit at the table, swigging from the beer bottle which was in his hand as he tried not to snap at the man who he was next to.

Finally, he gave up, moving away from the table and over to where the bar was, depositing his empty bottle onto a small table on his way. He ran his hand over his mouth as his destination remained the bar, his eyes set for another beer and maybe some nuts. That was how he spent his days. Waking, gambling and some light drinking. He'd turned down a job a couple of times, saying that he couldn't be dealing with it at that moment in time. He needed space to clear his head.

Unfortunately for him the thing that he needed space from was sat on his regular barstool.

Eames managed to draw his eyes onto hers as she remained still, her legs crossed and her eyes looking straight at him, not sure of his response as he remained stuck on the spot. He took in the paleness of her face compared to his lightly tanned one and the way her body looked underfed. The plum dress which sat on her body had always been one of his favourites; he just didn't care to admit it.

"Arthur told me where to find you," she said gently as he stood by her side, her knees resting against his torso as she looked at him.

"Why?" Eames whispered back to her and she shrugged.

"Do you know how hard it was for me to find you?" Jenny replied. "I tried to call."

"I've thrown my phone away," he spoke back. "I chucked it after I left LA."

"That would make sense," Jenny sighed back at him. "I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Eames wondered.

"Us," she said and he chuckled back darkly, his hand dropping to his hip as he did so.

"There never was an us," he said, motioning between the pair of them. "You said it yourself, Jennifer. You told me that I would be better off going to look somewhere else."

"I know that I did," Jenny responded. "I was stupid, Eames. I...I thought that Robert was the one who I wanted. I was blind, okay? It took me a while to realise that you...you were the one...and then I tried to call you. I tried to get hold of you and I couldn't. Do you know how that felt?"

"Almost as bad as realising the woman who you've begun to fall will never want you back?" Eames wondered, sitting on the vacant bar stool next to hers as he saw her gulp loudly and shake her head. "And then I stood there. I stood there on the side of the road when you left him and I waited. I waited for you to phone me. Maybe to tell me that you were going back to Australia. Maybe to tell me thanks for helping you. And there was nothing. I waited a week and there was nothing."

"I needed time," Jennifer said quickly. "I needed to get my head together, Eames. I need time to think about what I needed. How could I just run from Robert straight to you?"

"I'm not talking about jumping into bed with me," Eames spat out. "I'm talking about you calling me to let me know that you were okay. Do you not understand that I care about you?"

"I know that I maybe should have done that," Jennifer agreed with him. "And I'm sorry. I just...I miss you, Eames. More than I care to admit."

"I'd rather you did admit it," he grinned. "A little boost to my ego wouldn't go amiss."

"Shut up," Jennifer replied, hitting him on the arm quickly and lightly as he chuckled, catching onto her arm before he had the chance to let her pull it back onto her lap. Slowly, he pulled her from her stool, drawing her in between his legs as his hands dropped to hold her hips loosely. She ran her hands down the front of the patterned pink shirt which he was wearing before moving back up to rest them on his shoulders.

"And so you came all the way out to Botswana for me?" Eames checked and Jennifer smirked, shrugging nonchalantly as she did so.

"I guess I came for the tourism, too," she joked with him and he chuckled, one of his hands moving onto the small of her back as he did so. "Arthur also gave me a warning."

"Did he now?" Eames wondered, the smirk still on his face.

"Yes," she confirmed. "He told me that I can't be the one to break your heart again because he doesn't want your tears ruining another one of his suits."

"How melodramatic that man is," Eames rolled his eyes. "I don't think he has to worry too much about his suit, do you?"

"I hope not," Jennifer replied. "So, is this part where you make some grand romantic gesture like they do in the movies?"

"Romantic and me have never been mentioned in the same sentence, darling," Eames chuckled, slowly moving onto the edge of his seat as his mouth neared hers. "You'll just have to make do with me as I am."

"I'm sure I can cope," Jenny smiled before she felt his lips mould onto hers.


	29. Chapter 29

"I can see why you came back here," Jennifer whispered as she remained laid on the rooftop, her head resting on Eames's chest as his hands clasped the back of his head and the pair of them looked up onto the night sky. He'd managed to find an apartment with a rooftop balcony, finding them extremely private when he had no desire to be disturbed. "The view is quite something."

"That it is," Eames agreed with her, his voice rather low and mumbling as his eyes closed gently and a content smirk passed his lips whilst Jenny draped her free arm over his stomach, nestling closer to his side if it was actually possible. She had to admit that the concrete was slightly cold, only covered by a thin rug and nothing else.

"So, I have a question," Jennifer informed him, propping herself up onto her elbow, looking across to where Eames lay and he peeled one eye open, looking at her as she stared back at him, her fingers lightly tracing the pattern on his shirt.

"And what question would this be?" he asked her, a brow arched as he rubbed a hand over his chin and then moved it onto her arm, softly skimming her skin as he did so.

"What's your full name?"

Eames took a moment to allow his eyes to go wide before he laughed quickly and Jennifer smiled at the sound, gently nudging him in the side as she did so.

"What's so funny?" she wondered and he shook his head, the noise of his snorts dying down as he did so. He took a moment to look around the rooftop before his eyes landed back onto her face again.

"You," he replied. "You've known me for quite some time now, and you decide now is the time to ask me for my full name?"

"I guess that I hadn't really thought about it before," Jennifer shrugged at him and he closed his eyes again, his hand still tickling up and down her arm as he did so.

"It's Greg," he mumbled softly, not really caring for his first name as Jennifer took it in, looking at him and wondering if he looked like a Greg to her. "I'd prefer it if you stuck to just calling me Eames, darling."

"Hmm," Jennifer mused and Eames looked back at her again as she dropped back down to his side, resuming her previous resting position whilst he moved his arm to wrap it around her shoulders, bringing her tighter to his side. "I don't know if you look like a Greg."

"How can someone look like a Greg?" Eames wondered, wrapping a strand of her hair around his finger as she shrugged awkwardly against his side.

"You know," she told him. "You suit your name, don't you? Like...what would you think if I was called Rose?"

"Um," Eames took a moment, his brows furrowing together as he did so. "I'd think that you were called Rose? I don't really understand."

"What is there to not understand?" Jennifer asked him simply. "Honestly, it isn't difficult _Greg._"

"I've told you not to call me that," Eames reminded her and she sat up, looking at him with a taunting gleam.

"What?" she asked innocently. "Greg?"

"I've warned you," Eames said and Jennifer looked at him, still smirking.

"Sorry, Greg," she joked and Eames quickly sat up.

"Right, that's it," he said playfully and Jennifer quickly jumped up, moving away from Eames hastily as she did so, running to the edge of the building as he advanced onto her, wrapping his arms around her waist and hauling her back against his chest whilst she laughed wildly into the night sky and Eames chuckled along with her.

It didn't take long before his neighbours switched on a light and walked to their window, shouting outside as they looked up to the roof. Eames quickly ducked down with Jennifer in his grasp, tucking her beneath his chin and allowing her face to move against his chest, her body still shaking as she laughed against him.

"See what you've done, love?" Eames whispered as she stood tall, her arms draped around his neck as she laughed and smiled at him softly. "You're already waking the neighbours, what am I going to do with you?"

"Hmm, the possibilities," Jenny mused, her hand running down his gelled hair as she did so and Eames continued to grin.

"You're incorrigible," he said and she shrugged, allowing him to place a firm finger under her chin, lifting her gaze up to look at his.

"It's a trait which is a part of the package," she mumbled and Eames chuckled.

"I guess I can overlook that trait for the package," he whispered before he kissed her once again.

One week later

Robert hung up after his conversation with Jennifer's mother. He'd phoned her to see how she was holding up. It seemed she was doing better than he had initially thought. Her mother hadn't seemed all too pleased with her daughter's sudden decision to up and leave for Botswana. Apparently, she had been forced to live back at home and was unemployed. Her mother said that she had found this man in Botswana who she knew. He went by the name of Eames. She found it considerably reckless of her daughter to up and leave for a man she didn't even know. Robert found it refreshing.

He'd hung up and sat back in his chair, smiling lightly as he thought about it. The deeper he thought about it then the more he realised he should be upset. The woman he loved had gone off to a man who had brainwashed him. That was why he chose not to think about it too much. Biter was not a feeling which he wanted to associate with.

"Mr Fischer," his receptionist brought him out of his daze and he looked at her striking blue eyes whilst she looked down onto the paperwork which she was bringing him. "I have the contract which needs signing and your two o'clock meeting cancelled."

"Right," Robert said, taking the paperwork from her. "Thanks, Annie."

"No problem, Mr Fischer," she shrugged. "Is there anything else?"

"No, I don't think so," Robert replied and she nodded before turning around and moving back to the door. Robert watched her walk back before he shook his head. He'd never know if he didn't try. "Actually, there is something."

Annie turned around, her brow arched as she waited for him to say something to her and he remained seated, pulling on his tie gently as he did so.

"Yes, Mr Fischer?" she asked him.

"The fundraiser this evening, well, it seems I've two tickets here," Robert told her, picking them up and looking at them whilst she remained stood by the door, her eyes glittering as she thought about what was happening. "It would be a shame to waste one, wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so," Annie replied. "Do you need me to find you a date for this evening?"

"Yes, possibly," he replied. "However, I know who I would like to take."

"Do you? And who would she be?" Annie asked, trying not to smile at the harmless flirting between her boss and herself.

"I think she knows who she is," Robert whispered back to her, his lips curving upward on one side and Annie blushed slightly, placing her hands behind her back and she nodded once in agreement with the offer and Robert checked the ticket for the time of the event. "I'll pick you up at half past six."

"I can meet you there," Annie assured him and he shook his head.

"I'll pick you up," he promised her.

"Okay," Annie agreed, knowing that he could easily find her address on the employee records.

"I'll see you this evening," Robert declared and she nodded before shutting the door to his office. Robert took a deep breath and shook his head, unable to believe what he had just done.

Four months later

"The Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Eiffel Tower?"

"How can you choose between them?" Jennifer wondered as she sipped on the hot chocolate which Eames had just placed in front of her and her eyes darted over to the side where the Eiffel Tower sat. Eames shrugged and drank some of his coffee whilst Jenny watched him; the feeling in her stomach would never subside when she saw him. And she wasn't complaining.

"Easily." Eames told her. "Which do you think is better?"

"I like both of them," Jennifer replied and he rolled his eyes.

"Such a diplomatic answer," he replied and opened the paper which he had just bought whilst Jennifer tore at the croissant Eames had bought them.

"I called my mother whilst you were gone," Jennifer informed him and he peered at her from over his paper as she looked onto the pastry before her. "I think she wants me to go home."

"And what do you want to do?" Eames asked and Jenny shrugged, pushing her sunglasses onto the top of her head whilst Eames placed the paper onto the small table and looked at a couple as they passed them on the pavement.

"I want to travel," Jennifer decided. "I just know that we can't travel forever, can we? The money is bound to run out."

"Money is never something which I've had to worry about before," Eames declared to her and Jennifer looked at him. "Don't worry about money. We'll get by until you tire of travelling."

"I don't know if I will."

"Then we will never stop," Eames smiled. "You need to stop worrying, Jennifer."

"That's easy for you to say," Jennifer snorted. "I've never seen you worry about anything."

"There's no point to it," Eames nonchalantly spoke. "As long as I have you by my side then nothing worries me."

"And you said that you weren't romantic," Jennifer joked with him, leaning over the table to peak him on the cheek. He took hold of her hand as she sat back down, allowing it to rest in his on the table as he ate some of his croissant.

"I'm not, darling," Eames assured her. "Surely you know that by now."

"I care to disagree sometimes," Jennifer joked with him, moving his hand gently on the table like a couple do. "You're completely charming most of the time."

"Most of the time?"

"Leaving the toilet seat up ruins the allure for me, I'm afraid," she joked and he rolled his eyes before looking around and chuckling to himself, shaking his head once.

"It doesn't stop you from loving me any less so I'm not that bothered," Eames replied and Jennifer looked down onto the paper as she smiled to herself. Her eyes widened when she saw the column at the side. She dropped Eames hand and picked the paper up, reading it for herself whilst he looked at her with an arched brow.

"What is it?" he asked her and Jennifer folded the paper in half, turning it around for him to see and his eyes widened in shock at the article. She turned it back around and continued to read it, dropping it down after a moment and smiling in disbelief.

"Don't expect me to be doing anything like that suddenly," Eames warned her, slurping his drink and Jennifer shook her head.

"I don't," she assured him. "I know that commitment shouldn't be rushed."

"One day," Eames promised her. "One day when we're ready to settle down...maybe...maybe it will happen."

"I'm not bothered," she promised him. "I'm happy for him. He's moved on and he looks happy."

Eames picked the paper up and read the article for himself, commenting as he did so.

"His secretary? Annie Roberts...she's only twenty four..." Eames said. "He must have traded you in for a younger model," Eames joked and Jennifer gasped, moving to hit his hand. He acted quicker, trapping it in his and kissing her knuckle with his free hand as he did so. "Ah, but, she is signing a prenuptial to protect the Fischer empire. It says that the happy couple cannot wait to set a date."

"Like I said, I'm happy for him," Jennifer shrugged. "He looks happy. I bet my mother is having a fit."

"Why would you say that?" Eames wondered and Jennifer ate some more of her croissant.

"She always thought that Robert was the perfect man. A gentleman who was wealthy and could take care of me. You don't know what she wants to think about you," Jennifer said with a sly grin and Eames leant forwards, his eyes holding their mischievous gleam as he did so.

"I really do," he replied.

"Well," Jennifer mused, looking at their entwined hands as their elbows rested on the table. "She thinks you're some unstable man who wants nothing more than to show me the world to impress me and then when you're done you intend to discard me which means I have to go back to Australia with my tail between my legs and beg my parents to take me back."

"Whoa," Eames said, blinking profusely as Jennifer nodded.

"I know," she simply spoke back to him.

"Your mother has me down to a tee," Eames said and Jennifer squeezed his hand tightly and glared at him whilst he laughed heartedly. "Don't worry, darling. Even when we're done travelling I don't think that I will ever tire of you."

"What a relief," Jenny said with mock sarcasm.

"I suppose it is," Eames grinned back at her. "I suppose that I should meet your parents one day, shouldn't I? Maybe to apologise for stealing their daughter from them and ruining her reputation."

"This isn't some period drama, Eames," Jennifer informed him. "My reputation is still fine. But...you'd meet them?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I don't know," Jennifer admitted. "Only if you want to...I mean...it would be nice for them to get a chance to meet you..."

"Then we will go and book a ticket for Sydney as soon as we have done with our breakfast," Eames assured her.

"Not yet," Jenny shook her head. "We still have some of the world to see, don't we?"

"Whatever you want, darling," Eames smiled.

"Besides, we still have to conquer that thing," Jennifer stood up and Eames watched as she placed her sunglasses back onto her eyes, flattening out the red dress which she wore before he shrugged his jacket back onto his arms over his white shirt which had two buttons undone and was tucked into his grey trousers.

"Well, let us conquer another sight," Eames spoke with a smile and offered her his arm. Jenny slowly tucked her own arm into his and the two of them made their way down to the Tower, blending in with the other couples as they went.

...

"Where to now?" Eames asked from Jennifer as she sat cross legged on the bed, wearing on his simple purple shirts as he remained in his pyjamas and the pair of them looked over the brochures scattered around them. Jenny leant back onto Eames's chest, his arms wrapping around her waist as she dropped her head to rest on his shoulder.

"We haven't been to Berlin," Jennifer informed him. "It's not too far, either. Or there is Venice."

"Ah, the couple's city," Eames replied simply. "Which one do you fancy going to, love?"

"Either one," Jennifer spoke back as his lips moved over her ear.

"You see the beauty about this is that we can go to both," Eames promised her. "We don't need to choose."

"You really didn't lie when you said that you could show me the world, did you?" Jennifer checked, turning her head and catching him in a quick kiss as she did so.

"I'd never lie to you, darling," Eames chuckled. "I know that it isn't worth my life if you found out that I had."

"Damn right," Jennifer giggled, kissing him again before she picked up a brochure about Venice and moved out from in between his legs, laying on her back and holding the booklet above her as she read through it. Eames propped himself onto his elbow, slowly looking down at her before he spoke.

"I do love you."

Jennifer gently rested the brochure onto her stomach as she heard him say those four words. Those four little words which meant so much in the end. She continued to smile up at him, nodding as he remained looking serious. Declaring his love for women was not something which he did on a regular basis. It wasn't something that he had actually ever done.

"I just realised that I might not have said it that often," he spoke and Jennifer leant back up, kissing him on the cheek.

"I knew," she promised him. "You're just not very good with words."

"Like I said, I'm not romantic," Eames chuckled, his arm snaking across her waist as he did so. "But, I do love you."

"And I love you, too," Jennifer whispered back before the pair of them became too enveloped in each other once again.

...

A/N: And this is the actual end. I gave everyone a happy ending because I'm just sappy like that. Anyway, I would like to thank susubeansu, K9Trai, Lovely Rain Dancer, NeedNotNoName, NewSlove, Chromatique, reverie-scriptor, SARAHBABE215, crimsontears327 for reviewing the closing chapters.

If you'd like to leave one final review with your thoughts then it would be very much appreciated and I hope that you've all thoroughly enjoyed the story!


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